Of Roots, Boots, and LEPrecon Suits
by herpyderp
Summary: Holly Short struggles to let go of the past, but she finds old feelings getting in the way. Sool has mysteriously retired, and Trouble has taken his place, only to find his first mission as commander involves finding the old one. Holly/Root
1. Of Purple Bricks and Troublesome Ticks

**Of Roots, Boots, and LEPrecon Suits**

_Holly Short struggles to let go of the past, but she finds old feelings getting in the way. Sool has mysteriously retired, and Trouble has taken his place, only to find his first mission as commander involves finding the old one. HollyRoot_

_This story is set right after Opal Deception, and now (because of the sequel books and the time in which this fanfiction was written) is a sort of alternate story timeline. How could Colfer kill off Root? He was one of the best characters in the book! Well, that's what fanfictions are for: changing fictional reality! Anyways, if you don't mind a completely utter disregard for logic and physics, and you enjoy action, adventure, and a spice of romance (albeit centurial age differences), then read on!_

* * *

**Of Purple Bricks and Troublesome Ticks**

**S&D Private Investigators**

The former Captain Holly Short rocked in her office chair, her boots on the desk, her head down. The exhausted elf was sleeping quite soundly.

"Don't call me Julius! You always do that before you disobey me. Save Artemis, Holly. Save him."

"I'll save Artemis next."

BANG.

"I hit it, I hit the shot!"

"I don't know. I thought you were a fraction low. Hard luck. I mean that sincerely."

"NO!"

TICK. TICK. TICK. BEEP.

TICK. TICK. TICK. BEEP.

Mulch Diggums burst into his partner's office, a half eaten sandwich in his hand. "D'Arvit, Holly! Turn that stupid computer off!"

Holly jerked out of her nightmare and fell off the chair. She had broken into a sweat and looked rather frazzled.

Mulch gave Holly a weird look. "You alright, mate?" He stuck out a grubby hand to help her up.

Holly took the hand and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Be well," she murmured, somewhat to herself, but mostly to no one, at least no one who was living. She gazed at the source of that annoying beeping, her computer.

Mulch gave Holly another weird look then walked out of the room, muttering about "strange elves," "stressed females" and "moldy bread."

Holly sat back down at her computer and tried to shake the bad dream from her memories. It had been over two months since the whole ordeal with Opal. Anytime Holly felt ready to move on, that dream would lurk back into her thoughts, and she was back at square one.

TICK. TICK. TICK. BEEP.

Holly sighed. Getting mail wasn't that fun anymore. Her inbox was flooded with complaints from old customers, pointless cases from pranksters, and the occasional slap in the face from the not-so-friendly boys back in the LEP.

Things haven't been totally horrible, however. Quite the contrary, actually. Holly and Mulch's private investigator firm has been quite a success. Those who knew of Holly's skills flocked to the building, and those who didn't went there anyway, due to the vibrant purple painted bricks that Mulch had insisted on. All in all, life couldn't be better. The hours were noon to five with Saturdays and Sundays off. It was paradise for both of them. For the most part, anyways. Sometimes Holly yearned for the fresh air, the sound of her Hummingbird wings behind her.

"Message from Commander Trouble Kelp."

Holly let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, it's just Trouble... wait, COMMANDER?!"

Hey Holly,

Haha, I know what you're thinking: TROUBLE'S COMMANDER?! It's true! SOOL RESIGNED! Can you believe it? No one knows why! He's been after the job since before we were born, and then he just tosses it aside. The guys are saying that he's off to a nice retirement place somewhere on the surface. There was a big hype on who was going to be the next commander. I think Vinyáya put my name in, but I'm not sure. I always thought she liked me, what with my danger boy ways.

We all really miss you here at the LEP, and I'm not just saying that. Even the Retrieval boys are moping around. Foaly hasn't been the same since you left, and the same goes for Grub and even Chix. I really wish that you would come back to the team, Holly. Police Plaza isn't Police Plaza without Captain Holly Short.

This Sunday is the ceremony, and I was hoping that you would be my guest. If not as a co-worker or a comrade, then as a friend.

Until later,

Trouble

Holly leaned back in her chair, a broad grin on her face. I guess things do work out in the end! She thought. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

Trouble,

Congratulations on the promotion. I can't think of anyone better for the job. I'd be honored to be your guest, so except me there!

Holly

P.S. Give me more time to think.

She clicked the "send" command.

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of Acorn Tags and Centaur Brags**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

_**Suggestion Topic:** How much of Mulch do you want to see?_

* * *


	2. Of Acorn Tags and Centaur Brags

**Of Acorn Tags and Centaur Brags**

**Holly's apartment**

Holly stood in the entryway to her apartment, putting the last adjustments on her outfit for Trouble's ceremony. She frowned at her spiky-haired mirrored reflection. Sure, two months out of the LEP has caused her crew cut to grow out a bit, but she was still mistaken for a boy everywhere she went. She ran her fingers through her short hair, smoothed out the creases in her green dress, and headed out the door.

"Look at you out of the uniform!" beamed Trouble. His medals glistened under the artificial sun as they walked down the street. "That's quite a rarity, even nowadays."

* * *

**Police Plaza ceremony room**

An awkward silence came over the audience, and everyone's head turned to see the ex-captain and newly promoted commander enter the ceremony room.

Holly paled. "Uh, hi everyone. Nice to, um, see all of you again."

"NICE TO SEE YOU TOO, HOLLY! YOU'RE LOOKING RATHER FINE!" chirped Chix Verbil from out of nowhere.

Holly looked around nervously. "They all seem happy to see me." She joked.

"And yet no one cares that the pony boy is out of his bubble!" Holly and Trouble turned around to find Foaly the centaur, a glass of what looked like carrot and beet wine in his hand. Out of his traditional lab coat and tinfoil hat, Foaly was dressed in an orange suit jacket and lime green button-up shirt, his hair unsuccessfully combed and awkwardly gelled back.

"Well, when you come out looking like that," laughed Holly. "I think people would want you back in your bubble!" She punched the tech genius playfully in the arm.

"I'll have you know," replied Foaly, his voice layered with fake offense. "That the ladies LOVE the suit." He ran a hand through his hair.

Trouble was doubled over in laughter. "Ladies, right. Of course, ladies."

"Very, very, funny, Commander Kelp." grumbled Foaly. He was about to reply with a witty remark when a series of beeping came from inside his coat. Foaly took out a small handheld device and expertly pressed a few buttons. "What's this?" Foaly sounded concerned, honestly concerned, which was something for him. He frowned. "I'm sorry Trouble, but I have to leave, something is going on with the computers in the Ops Booths."

"Aww, Foaly, can't it wait until after the ceremony?" ask Holly. She was looking forward to spending time with her centaur friend. After all, who was she going to poke fun out of Trouble with while he got awkward handshake after awkward handshake from people he didn't even know?

"'Fraid not, Hol', the longer I wait, the worse it may be. I can't take any chances." With that, the centaur galloped off.

Trouble patted Holly's shoulder and then looked around the room. "I guess I better start mingling with people. Vinyáya told me I gotta make a good first impression." With a wave, he set off into the crowd.

Holly sat down at a table and fiddled with the little sign that read "Ceremony of Commander Trouble Kelp." She gazed around the room, watching Trouble try to impress his superiors and Chix try to impress the women.

A little while later, the ceremony was ready to begin. People filed into tables, and several officers started for the front, along with Trouble. Most of Holly's ex-comrades walked right past her table, eyes averted. Chix, of course, hopped right over to the female elf.

"Looking as good as ever, Holly!" coaxed Chix as he flashed her a green-face smile. Holly rolled her eyes, giving her attention to the LEPrecon officials getting ready to speak. Chix scooted his seat as close to Holly as he dared.

Wing Commander Vinyáya spoke first. "In the many years I have been here, never before have I met a man like Trouble Kelp. Even during his days in the Academy, I knew he was destined for great accomplishments. His excellent turn over as a major led us all in the Council to believe that he has the potential to fulfill the position that we are here for today."

After her speech, Vinyáya turned to Trouble. He rose and stood beside her. She removed his two-acorn major emblem, and replaced it with the three-acorn commander one. Vinyáya turned back to the audience. "I present to you, Commander Trouble Kelp."

Holly clapped louder that anyone near her. Cheers, hollers, and the stomping of feet were heard from the nearby Retrieval boys' table.

Trouble raised his hand for silence and began to speak.

"First of all, I am very honored to even be considered for this position. Never in my life would I ever dream of becoming the LEPrecon Commander. Before I go off into a pointless speech, I would like to honor a close friend of mine, without whom I would not be here today. The late Commander Julius Root."

Holly shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Julius was a great man who taught me everything I kno-"

BANG!

Foaly burst into the ceremony room. The tails of his suit jacket where flying behind him, and his hair was messy, sticking out at random places.

"TROUBLE!" he galloped up to the front of the room and pulled on his sleeve. "TROUBLE! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!"

Trouble looked at Foaly like he was insane. "Foaly, what the hell is wrong with you?! You can't just interrupt the middle of my speech!"

Foaly looked around the room. Everyone was stared at him like he was a naked mud man in bunny slippers. He grasped Trouble by the shoulders and stared him dead straight in the eyes. "Trouble," he said emphatically. "You know I wouldn't do this unless it was really important. Trust me."

Trouble looked earnestly at the crowd, then back at Foaly. "D'Arvit. Whatever this is, Foaly," he grumbled. "It better be good."

Trouble took one last look at the dumbfounded audience, then jumped off the stage. He ran to Foaly, who decided to stop by one of the tables with a certain green dressed elf and green faced sprite.

"Stop gaping, Holly," winked Foaly. "You're coming too!" He grabbed Holly by the arm, leaving a stunned and dateless Chix staring after them.

The trio ran outside of the ceremony room. Trouble stopped abruptly and grabbed Foaly by the shoulders. "Okay, what the hell is going on Foaly?!" Trouble face was red. "You just humiliated me in front of the entire LEP! Now TALK!"

Foaly pushed Trouble's hands off of him, ignoring the roughness. "You guys aren't going to believe me... I didn't even believe it... I still don't believe it..."

"OUT WITH IT, FOALY!" shouted Holly and Trouble simultaneously.

Foaly looked at both of them in the eyes.

"Root is still alive."

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of Past Cases and Glass Vases**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

_**Suggestion Topic:** Foaly - witty remarks via helmet mic, or out in the field tasting the action?_


	3. Of Past Cases and Glass Vases

**Of Past Cases and Glass Vases**

**The Ops Booth**

Holly, Trouble, and Foaly trotted towards the Ops Booth, all of them grasping at the hope that their beloved commander might still be alive.

Holly's heart pounded hard in her chest, and it wasn't from the running. _I can't believe this!_ She thought. _Could the commander really still be alive? It's too good to be true._ The ex-captain felt a wave of butterflies in her stomach. Deep down, she knew not to give up on him. She always thought there could have been some way.

The trio arrived at the Ops Booth. "Alright guys," said a breathless Foaly. "Throw everything you know about octo-bonds, abandoned magma chutes, and superior officer explosions out the window." They entered. Foaly's usual neat and orderly workstation was a complete disaster. Papers and electronic equipment were everywhere. The clutter was focused around one computer, which was flashing a green message that read "COMMANDER ROOT SIGNAL LOCATED."

"I don't believe it," breathed Holly. She placed her hand on the computer screen.

"I didn't either," replied Foaly. He went to the computer next to Holly. "I've pinpointed the exact location of the signal. It's close to E37. Right under it, actually. Do you remember the old aquarium exhibit?"

"Aquarium exhibit? What in Frond's name is an aquarium?" Trouble scratched his head and peered at Foaly's computer.

"Ah, that's right. You guys weren't even born yet." Foaly clicked a few more buttons. "There used to be this underground museum where E37 is now, before the magma flares were as active. Pretty silly to put a water-based exhibit under an active lava flow, right? Anyways, it was slightly illegal, I'd say. The creators tried to pass it off as an aqua life sanctuary, saying they were protecting the creatures from the Mud Men. Council didn't buy it, since they had several gift shops and were charging a fortune to get in. They declared it an unsafe region for the wildlife due to the close proximity of the magma flares and shut it down. It's been abandoned ever since."

"That's all fine and dandy, Foaly, but what does it have to do with the commander?" asked Trouble.

"Well," continued the centaur. "Root's signal is coming from that old museum."

"Couldn't it just be a trap, Foaly?" asked Holly. "I mean, someone could have recovered his helmet or made a duplicate of it. It could be a false signal."

"If they recovered his helmet, then that means that Root's body would have been recovered as well." Foaly picked up a prototype helmet from off the cluttered floor. "I have those babies programmed flawlessly. Obviously if Root was incinerated, the helmet would have gone with him. No doubt about that. If he wasn't incinerated but still died due to sustained injuries, the helmet would have self-destructed, just in case the body was discovered by the wrong types of people. Typical protocol. The only way for the helmet to still be intact, let alone give off a signal, is for it's occupant to still be alive and wearing it. Each helmet is unique and programmed for that specific person. It detects their brainwaves, body temperatures, breathing patterns, you name it. It's like an electronic fingerprint that goes on your head. The only way for us to have picked up Root's signal is for him to still be alive and wearing that helmet."

Trouble turned towards Foaly. "That's great to hear, but that still doesn't rule out the possibilities of us walking into a trap. Koboi could have had a more in-depth plan that we thought. What if she's holding Root right now, just waiting for us to come down to rescue him? We could be walking into a situation that would be worse than the one before."

"Well, whether we are or not, it doesn't change the fact that the commander is still alive," said the centaur emphatically. "And either way, we still need to check it out."

"I suppose you're right," agreed Trouble. "But that doesn't mean we aren't going to take extra precautions." He walked towards the door. "I'm going to start getting a shuttle ready. Meet me in the dock in ten minutes. Take whatever weapons you find suitable." He cast a look towards the tech genius. "That means you too, Foaly." With that, the newly promoted commander left.

Holly was still staring at the blinking computer screen. Foaly glanced worriedly at her. He approached the female elf and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Holly? Are you alright?"

Holly nodded, her eyes not breaking from the screen. "Foaly, how sure are you that Root is alive? I understand what you said about your equipment, but everything has its flaws. Why did it just start showing his vitals now? When that whole fiasco happened, he was flatline. Nothing. Gone. I just don't understand."

This doubt of his inventions didn't bother Foaly. It was Holly, and in this situation she definitely had her reasons to doubt the efficiency of his equipment. "Holly," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "I'm 100 percent sure that the Commander is still alive. And not just because of my equipment. I just have this gut feeling. And a centaur's instinct is never wrong."

Holly continued staring at the computer screen, doubt in her eyes.

"Holly," A slight hint of desperation crept into Foaly's voice. "I know how much this means to you. Please just trust me."

Holly finally turned and gave a nod to the tech genius. "Let's get our commander back."

* * *

**Two years earlier, Police Plaza elevator**

"Hold the elevator!" yelled Holly as she dashed down the hallway. "D'Arvit, hold the elevator!"

Just before the door closed, a hand caught it. A particularly red hand. Commander Julius Root pulled open the door. "Language there, Captain."

Holly turned a deep shade of pink and stepped into the elevator. "Sorry, sir. And thank you." She and Root stood on opposite sides of the elevator.

"Which floor?"

"Ground level."

"Good. That's where I'm headed. Less waste of time." The commander pushed the close button and the elevator started moving. It stopped again at the next floor down. "D'Arvit." Root cursed under his breath. Several dozen sprites crowded into the elevator, tourists on the "Breakthrough Achievements of Sprites" tour. The sprites buzzed with excitement, and with little regard for the other occupants of the elevator. They pushed Holly towards one of the corners of the elevator.

Holly took several steps backwards, trying to avoid the overexcited sprites. She bumped into someone behind her.

"Well, this is a little too close for comfort." Root grunted from behind her and shifted his weight between his two feet.

Holly shivered as his warm breath traveled down her neck, giving her goose bumps. She felt her back arched slightly as his chest moved rhythmically with his breaths. _Don't freak out, Holly._ The LEP captain told herself. _It's just an elevator ride. A conveniently crammed elevator ride._

The elevator moaned and creaked as it traveled down to the next floor. "That doesn't sound good," commented Root. "There's too much weight on the elevator."

"Commander, you don't think it's going to-"

Holly was cut off when the elevator fiercely jerked, throwing around all of its occupants. She was thrown backwards into her commander, who gave a startled "oof!" as the wind was knocked out of him. He in turned grabbed her on the waist, steadying the two of them against the elevator wall. After several moments, the shaking stopped. One of the sprites frantically pushed the emergency open button. They all flew out in a frenzy, leaving the two elves still pinned in one of the corners of the elevator.

Root's hands lingered on Holly's waist. He breathed deeply, sending another chill down her spine. "Holly, are you alright?"

Holly leaned slightly against her superior officer's chest. "I'm fine, sir." She glanced down at her waist, once again turning pink. "Uh, Julius, can I have my waist back?"

Root matched his captain's shade of pink and hastily dropped his hands. "Sorry." he muttered.

Holly stepped out of the elevator, trying to hide the grin on her face.

* * *

**Near E37**

"Alright guys, we're almost there!" called Holly from the pilot seat. She was changed into her old LEPrecon combat suit, fully equipped with the latest in underground weaponry. Despite her current disdain for the LEP, Holly felt good to be back in the uniform. She zoomed in on the signal on the shuttle computer, following the geographical tracker.

Trouble appeared in the doorway and took the co-pilot seat. "Have you found a way in, Holly?"

The ex-captain pointed to a small line on the tracker. "Right here. There's a narrow passage leading into the aqua museum. I'm guessing it's how tourist got in safely without having to worry about the magma flares. It looks like it's still in pretty good shape, so we shouldn't have a problem getting in." Holly turned the steering, leading the shuttle into the crack.

"Oh, there it is!" exclaimed Trouble several moments later. He pointed towards a faded blue sign that read "AQUA LIFE SANCTUARY: A PARADISE FOR TORTURED SURFACE WATER CREATURES." He patted Holly on the shoulders and left the pilot room. Holly parked the shuttle and followed.

A few minutes later, the two elves were ready to explore the abandoned museum, packed up to their pointy ears with weapons and equipment.

"And we all call Foaly the paranoid one." Holly muttered to herself. After all, it was the newly promoted commander's idea to bring all this stuff. But she couldn't blame him. What if they were walking right into a trap? This whole ordeal seemed very suspicious. Holly shook the thought from her head and followed Trouble into the museum.

"Can you guys hear me alright?" chirped Foaly in both elves' hears.

"Unfortunately yes." Trouble replied.

"Oh cram it, Trubs. I know you love to hear my beautiful voice."

"Hey, you can't talk to me like that anymore, pony boy. I'm commander now, remember?"

There was a rush of static, which was most likely Foaly laughing on the other end. "And have you seen how I treat the commanders?"

Trouble laughed off the comment and continued walking.

Holly looked at the green signal on her handheld device. "According to the tracker, the commander should be a few rooms over, in something called the 'Eel Room.'" She pointed ahead to a door with that label. They entered it and continued walking. Suddenly the ex-captain stopped dead in her tracks, causing Trouble to bump into her.

"D'Arvit, Holly. What the hell?!"

The female elf simply pointed to a large glass case in front of her.

"Oh gods," breathed Trouble. "It's Julius."

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of Big Black Eyes and Unzipped Flies**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

_**Suggestion Topic:** The flashbacks - more or less?_


	4. Of Big Black Eyes and Unzipped Flies

**Of Big Black Eyes and Unzipped Flies**

**The abandoned Aqua Life Sanctuary**

Holly gazed in awe at the glass tube in front of her. Here he was, Commander Julius Root. Alive. In horrible condition, but alive nonetheless.

Trouble walked next to Holly and examined the commander. He frowned slightly. "The commander appears to be breathing, Hol', but just barely." He paced around the glass tube, taking in the site. Upon Root's head was his LEP helmet, the one that had led them there. Dozens of wires were attached to it, and these wires followed out of the tube. A breathing mask of some sort was strapped to his mouth. His body was completely mangled. Parts of an arm and leg were missing, and it had more cuts and burns than a baby demon in a volcano.

"Trouble, to Foaly."

"Foaly, the master genius here, what can I do for ya, Trubs?"

Troubled winced at the nickname. "Enough of that, donkey boy, we found Commander Root."

There was silence on the other end. "Y-you did?"

"Yeah," Trouble activated the camera in his helmet. He walked around the tube, sending the images to Foaly. "He's in horrible condition, though."

"Hmm..." Trouble and Holly heard a tapping of hooves on the other end of the ComLink. "Horrible condition is a bit of an understatement, Trouble."

Holly looked at Trouble. She had remained silent since they entered the Eel Room. She tapped her ComLink. "So he is alive, then?"

At Holly's voice, Root stirred inside of the tube. Holly and Trouble jumped back in surprise. The commander's fingers twitched, then he fell back into his coma-like state.

Suddenly, the scurrying of small feet was heard. Holly and Trouble turned around to find themselves surrounded by at least three dozen black eyed creatures.

"Are you guys okay?" chirped Foaly in their ears.

Holly whispered as quietly as she could into her ComLink. "Foaly, there's some creepy little guys here."

One of the little creatures hurried up to Holly and told hold of her hand. He slapped it. "No, no! That's bad! You can't wake him!" He snatched her and Trouble's ComLinks. "No, no!"

Holly jerked her back in surprise. "What the hell? Who are you people?"

Trouble stepped to her side. "We're the LEP, we're under investigation of this place!"

Six dozen black eyes widened in respect, and three dozen little creatures bowed low to the ground.

The same creature that had slapped Holly's hand rose. "We are so sorry, sirs." It squeaked. "We did not know it was you, sirs." He gave a quick bow. "My name is Jook. I am of the gremlin people you see before you, sirs."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "You guys are… gremlins?" She hovered her hand over her holster belt.

Gremlins were strange little creatures. Standing at only one and a half feet, they were one of the smallest of the People. Most were known for their big black eyes and pale bluish gray skin. Joked as the dwarf's polar opposite, they were completely bald, and actually never grew any hair. Only in the past century have they become accustomed to wearing clothes, although none of the other fairies seem to notice or care, as gremlins were not a common sight in the Haven. They had assumed that they had dwindled out, as they are one of the few elven races without much magic. Because of this, the gremlins isolated themselves from the rest of the People, and opted to build their own communities deep under the earth. Only a handful lived in the general fairy population.

Jook continued. "We have been waiting for you, sirs, but we did not expect you so early, sirs."

Holly and Trouble were trying to take in all that the little gremlin was saying. "Wait," said Trouble, as he was handed back his ComLink. "You were expecting us? Expecting us for what?" They adjusted their ComLinks back into place and switched them so Foaly could hear what was going on.

All the gremlins bowed again. "We were expecting you to get the red one, sirs." finished Jook.

"The 'red one'?" questioned Holly and Trouble together.

Three dozen index fingers pointed in the direction of the glass tube that held Commander Root.

"Him, sirs."

Over the ComLink, Foaly was burst into laughter.

* * *

**Six months earlier, Police Plaza ceremony room**

"Foaly! Hurry up, the ceremony starts in less than an twenty minutes!" Holly was pacing outside of Foaly's apartment door. The elf and centaur had agreed to attend Trouble's promotion ceremony together. However, Holly was starting to regret this decision.

"Come ON, Foaly! It's not everyday that one of your friends becomes a major!" Holly picked a piece of imaginary lint off of her red dress. "Geesh, why did I agree to go with you anyway?"

Foaly walked out of the door, and smirked at Holly. "Because you would never gather up the guts to ask Root to go with you, and we both didn't want to look like idiots."

Holly took in his appearance: a starch white suit jacket and neon purple turtleneck. She shook her head. "Sure, we won't look at idiots at all."

They started on their half trot down to the Police Plaza, and boy what a site they were. You'd laugh too if you saw a girl in a red dress with a crew cut running along side a centaur with a purple turtleneck on.

Holly and Foaly finally arrived at the Police Plaza. "So why do you think I'd never gather up the courage to ask Root?" asked Holly as they entered.

"Captain Short! Foaly! You're late!" barked a voice amidst the crowd. Holly twirled around as Commander Root pushed himself through the people. Root's eyes widened when he got clear view of Holly and Foaly.

Trouble was right behind him. He broke into a grin when he caught site of Holly and Foaly. "Holly! You clean up nicely!" He glanced over at Root who had a look on his face like none he's seen before. And this look was directed towards his only female officer. Trouble's eyes' narrowed and his grin took a wicked hook. "Don't you agree, sir, doesn't Holly look great?"

Root broke his stare and turned a deep shade of red. "Uh, yes, she looks very pret- presentable. Nice work, Short. Try being punctual next time." Root nodded curtly to the female elf and centaur, then grabbed Trouble by the arm and disappeared into the crowd again.

Holly was planted on the spot. "What the heck just happened?"

Foaly snickered. "See? THAT'S why I believe you would've never asked him here. Now let's get to the buffet table, I'm starved!"

* * *

**The abandoned Aqua Life Sanctuary**

"So why are you helping our commander?" Trouble and Holly were following several of the gremlins through the abandoned aquarium.

"We have to, sirs." Jook replied.

"They have to?" Foaly chirped in Holly's ear. "Why?"

"Yeah," continued Trouble. "Why do you have to?"

The gremlin avoided looking Trouble in the eyes. "We just have to, sirs. That's all."

Holly and Trouble exchanged suspicious glances. "Well," Holly began, trying to get as much information out of them as possible. "How in Frond's name did you save him in the first place? I saw for myself, he became a pile of ash!"

Apparently, that was not the case. The gremlins explained that their discovery of Root was completely by accident. One of their smaller communities lay undetected below E37. The force of the explosion sent Root hurling down the vents towards the gremlins. It kicked up so much dust and debris that it appeared as if he had disintegrated into nothingness. The gremlins discovered him shortly afterwards, and did their best to keep his vitals stable. They, however, could not heal him, as they possessed very little magic.

"I'm guessing that's where we come in, right?" asked Holly. "You were waiting for some elves to come because we could patch him up in a heartbeat." The gremlins nodded. "But that still doesn't explain why you're helping him in the first place." They ignored the question. "Or how you know we would even come. Were you planning on stabilizing him for decades until some wandering fairy walks by?"

The gremlin continued to avoid eye contact. "We just knew, sirs."

Holly and Trouble arrived with the gremlins in what appeared to be the gift shop. Instead of shelves and shelves of useless tourist junk, shelves and shelves of medical equipment, metal parts, and other complicated things lined the walls. On the far end of the room was an operation table and several pieces of papers stabled to the wall.

Trouble walked up to the papers; it was a series of lists. Operations that needed to be done on the commander. He read them down: new lungs, new liver, new stomach, new ribs, new left arm, new left foot, new right knee, new pelvis, the man practically needed to be rebuild again from scratch. "How on earth can these little blue guys do all that, Foaly?"

"Psh, you're asking me? I thought this guys were extinct." Trouble could sense the irritability in the centaur's voice. Anyone who went untracked by Foaly's computer didn't exactly sit well with the Ops Booth operator. He did not like being outsmarted. And something seemed off about these black-eyed creatures.

"Some use you are, 'master genius,'" Trouble chuckled, remembering his position in the LEP. "Remind me to cut your budget when I get back."

Foaly gave a nervous laugh across the line. He knew Trouble was joking. He had to be joking. "Very, very funny, _Commander_. Now tell me, what are you going to do once Julius comes back to the force?"

Trouble's brow wrinkled in thought. _Hmm, I haven't thought of that yet. All the excitement of Root's return made me forget that I have his old job. Would he even return after all this?_ "Root and I will worry about that when the time comes, Foaly."

"I'm sure you will, Trubs."

"Good, good, very good." Jook had reentered the room. "It seems we shall be able to proceed with the operations right now, sirs."

"Right now?" Holly asked surprised.

"Yes, sirs." He bowed and led the way back to Root's tube. With a press of a few buttons, the tube split open. Jook and several others gremlins ran up to lower the commander from the wires.

They took Root into the gift shop again. The gremlins lowered him onto a table. "It is time to begin, sirs." Trouble nodded and approached the table. Holly rolled up the sleeves of her suit and followed.

"First," said one of the operating gremlins. "We have to work with the actual body. That is, the bloods, guts, bones, you get it."

Trouble smirked at this gremlin's particularly rude attitude. He actually preferred it over the annoying idolizing attitude the other one took on.

"What are you grinning at? We need to get to work!" The gremlin's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh, and by the way, I'm Rale. I do surgery." He started removing the remains of the LEP suit that Root was wearing. Trouble got the hint and started to help. Holly turned around, trying to hide her reddening cheeks. She heard a loud ZIPPPP and blushed even more. "I'll let you take care of this one, Trouble."

A snicker was heard over the ComLink.

Trouble stared at Holly. "What? Holly, I can't heal him entirely by myself! Even if I was running hot, I'd never have enough magic to complete it!" Holly still didn't turn around.

Trouble's eyes widened as he took the hint. "Holly," he began exasperately. "Are you serious?"

"It's the commander, Trouble."

"For Frond's sake, Holly. I'll throw a towel on him."

"Trouble, I can't." said Holly desperately.

"Holly, you're being ridiculous!" Trouble grabbed a white towel from the medical table and waved it in front of Holly's face. "Here! See? Problem solved! Now just suck it up and do the procedure. Do you want him to live or not?"

Holly crossed her arms, her back still to Trouble. "Of course I do! More than you know!" She whirled around and grabbed the towel from Trouble's hands. "Gimme that damn towel, and I'll do the healing myself!"

Foaly chimed in. "Just pictured everyone in their underwear."

Holly shook her head. "How is that going to help, Foaly?"

"It's always helps me." Foaly sighed over the ComLink. "Just do whatever the hell you want."

The two approached Root's body. Rale, during all that commotion, had already laid a medical blanket over him, saving Holly the trouble and embarrassment of seeing anything she didn't want to see (or more accurately, didn't want anyone to know she _wanted_ to see). The two elves laid their hands on his chest. "Heal."

Blue sparks started dancing around Root's body. Rale pointed at Root and shouted out orders. Two gremlins raced up and held a mechanical arm where Root's missing left arm would have been. Two gremlins and a metal foot followed suit. The blue sparks continued to surround Root's body.

Trouble watched as the various burns, cuts, and bruises magically closed themselves. He glanced over at Holly who stared almost too seriously at the healing process. _Holly, I don't know why you are making such a big deal about this. I know Root would if the situation was flipped, but why are you?_

"Alright, stop!" ordered Rale. Holly and Trouble removed their hands.

"Is he alright?" breathed Holly.

* * *

**Three months earlier, Commander Root's office**

"CAPTAIN SHORT! IN MY OFFICE NOW!" Holly raced down the hallways of the Police Plaza, trying to get to Root's office as soon as possible. She didn't want to get him any angrier than what he already seemed.

"W-what is it, sir?" she blurted out breathlessly.

Root leaned back in his chair and dabbed out the cigar he was smoking. "What is this I here about you and Foaly throwing Private Verbil out a window?"

Holly blushed. She hated talking about Chix and his sexist antics. Especially with the commander. "Well, sir, he was out of line."

"Out of line?" barked Root. "How so?"

"He... well...umm..." Holly scratched the back of her neck. How the hell was she supposed to tell the commander that Chix had told her that he wanted to park his shuttle in her vent shoot and make her magma flare? Not exactly the kind of story you share with your superior officer.

Root sighed and shook his head. "You know, Short, you'll have to deal with things worse than that when you become a major."

Holly gasped in surprise. "Major, sir?"

"Yes, major. Haven't I told you yet?"

"No, sir."

Root motioned for Holly to sit down. A rare gesture.

"Captain," he looked across his desk with a stern face, not an unpleasant face, but a stern face. "You're one of the damn best officers I have, and after the past few years, you've really proven yourself. You're crazy sometimes, but I think that's a good thing. In the adventures we've been in together, I've never seen anyone who was more quick-witted. The council IS going to make you a major, and I'll personally make sure of that. You're one of the best for the job. I know that you are going to make a huge difference in the way things are run here."

Holly beam. "Thank you, sir." She rose to leave.

"Oh, and Holly," Root rose from his chair and opened the door for his captain. Another rare gesture. "If it means anything to you," he struggled to find the right words. "They've been… fun. The adventures, I mean."

"Yeah," replied Holly thoughtfully. "They have been." What she did next was sort of a blur to both her and the commander. She embraced the red elf, then quickly withdrew in embarrassment. The young elf gave an awkward salute and dashed out the door, leaving Root slightly stunned, staring after her.

* * *

**The abandoned Aqua Life Sanctuary**

"His new organs are in, and the magic seems to have placed the artificial limbs on nicely. The red one should awake shortly, sirs." Jook said over a speaker that was in one of the tour rooms of the abandoned aquarium. Holly and Trouble leap out of their seats and rushed to the gift shop.

They pressed their faces against the glass door, watching the gremlins remove the last of the wires. All that was left was to wait for the commander to awaken.

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, __**Of Carrot Juices and Red Cabooses**__._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

_**Suggestion Topic:**__ Grub Kelp - helpful brother or annoyingly funny security guard?_


	5. Of Carrot Juices and Red Cabooses

**Of Carrot Juices and Red Cabooses**

**The abandoned Aqua Life Sanctuary**

Julius Root groaned and opened one eye. _Where the hell am I?_ He quickly closed it as his pupil painfully absorbed the light, and tried to sort out his thoughts. He faintly heard voices, which much be from the next room.

"He moved!" gasped one, a male voice. Sounded familiar.

"It is successful, sirs." This one seemed male, but had a childish tone to it. Root didn't recognize it.

"Will he be okay then?" Root's heart skipped a beat. This voice was female. It also sounded familiar.

"Yes, sirs." It was the childish voice again. "But I do believe we should leave him for the time being, as it would not be wise to have him awake with dozens of faces in front of him, sirs."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." The female voice again.

_No._ Root thought. _I want her to come in. _The voices then stopped.

_Think, Julius, what was the last thing that happened?_ Root lay there searching his thoughts. He remembered burning, lots of burning, then blue people, then seeing a girl.

Then all the past memories rushed back to him.

"_Don't call me Julius!_ _You always do that before you disobey me. Save Artemis, Holly. Save him."_

"_I'll save Artemis next."_

_BANG._

"_I hit it, I hit the shot!_"

"_I don't know. I thought you were a fraction low. Hard luck. I mean that sincerely."_

"_NO!_"

He had been in E37 on a mission involving General Scalene. It had been a trapped, a sickening genius trap set by Opal Koboi.

"_Commander Root, it looks like you're the sacrifice."_

He had been set up. Root had been warned, and he himself even believed it was a trap, but he went in anyway. Holly had even begged him to reconsider, to turn back.

Holly...

Root's stomach gave a lurch. _Was she alright? Where was she? What happened to her in E37? She didn't die in the explosion, did she?_ His stomach flip-flopped again. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

Root propped himself up on his elbows and surveyed the room. _Who saved me?_ He thought. _How was that possible?_ He sat up._ Where they able to save Holly, too?_

Root got off the operation table and walked around the room, his legs slightly stiff._ Where the hell is everyone?_ He reached his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"OW! What in Frond's name?" Root looked down at his hand and gasped when he realized it was made of metal. His mechanical fingers clenched into a fist when he heard people approaching at quite a fast pace.

"COMMANDER! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE AWAKE! YOU'RE MOVING!" Trouble was the first to enter the room at a full-blown sprint and headed right to the Commander, or rather, the Commander's fist.

"Oof!" Trouble fell to the floor, a smile still on his face. Root grabbed Trouble by the scruff of his neck, his face reddening in that old nostalgic way, and lifted him to his feet.

"Kelp! What did I tell you about running into a room with your guard down? If I was a goblin, you would have gotten your head blown off!" He brushed the dirt off the front of Trouble's suit with his free hand. "You're a mess! How do you expect to represent the LEP by looking like THAT?!"

At this point, Holly and the gremlins had rushed into the room. Root stopped yelling. Holly looked at Root. Root looked at Holly. Trouble looked at both of them, still in Root's grasp.

"Julius…" Holly stared in disbelief at the elf in front of her. "I mean, Commander. You're alive!" She beamed and ran up to him and Trouble.

Back in the travel pod, Foaly adjusted the camera. He smirked to himself and leaned back in his chair to watch the scene, humming a Mud Man love song.

Root's complexion faded and his expression softened. "Holly!" _She's alive. Thank Frond she's alive._ Almost involuntarily, he outstretched his arms, then quickly redrew them and stuck out a hand. Holly took it, and shook it vigorously.

"It's great to have you back, Commander."

Trouble rolled his eyes at the commander. "Well, I guess it's time we head back to the Haven. After all, there's a lot of stuff to sort out." He threw one arm around Root's shoulders and one around Holly's shoulders. "Thanks for the help, gremlins, but we must be on our way!"

* * *

**The shuttle pod**

"So I've really been gone for that long?" Root, Holly, and Trouble were back in the travel pod. They were comfortably traveling back home, Holly and Trouble piloting, and Foaly helping Root in the back. Changed into one of the spare LEP uniforms, Root was conversing with a certain tech nerd over some carrot juice. He took a sip of the liquid and winced in distaste.

Foaly chuckled. "Not a fan, huh?" He snatched the cup from Root's hand. "After that incident, the entire force went down in the mud. Sool took your job, Holly quit, it was a mess."

Root slammed a hand down on the table. "Wait, wait, wait, pony boy. Sool's commander? SHORT QUIT?!" He was living up to that nickname again. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHORT QUIT?!"

Foaly waved his hands, signaling for Root to quiet down. "Ssh! Do you want all of the underground to hear you, Julius? And yes, Holly DID quit!"

Root threw an empty cup at Foaly's direction. "First of all, pony boy, don't call me Julius. Secondly, we're in a travel pod that has soundproof rooms. Even if I exploded a bomb in here, Short and Kelp wouldn't even feel a murmur. Thirdly, EXPLAIN!"

Foaly sighed. He knew Beetroot wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "Well, you see, Commander," Foaly rose from his seat.

_Oh no, _though Root._ He called me "Commander." Foaly never does that._

"Koboi had it perfectly set up. Your so-called death looked like Holly's fault, considering she shot at the octo-bonds. On top of that, she was missing for quite some time afterwards. Everyone thought she went crazy, murdered you, and then tried to escape. Of course, it was all settled in the end when we figured out that Koboi was behind it all, but a lot of people still have their doubts. And it completely ruined Holly's career."

Root was silent. His reddish complexion had paled profusely. He put his head in his hands and just remained sitting at the table.

Foaly approached Root and awkwardly patted him on the back. "If it makes you feel any better, Julius, Trouble and I never believed it. We knew Holly would never do anything like that... or at least I do...she'd never..." Foaly's eyes widened and he bit his lip before he could say any more.

Root lifted his head from his hands. "What do you mean by that?" There was a bit of a snap to his voice.

Foaly fell back into the chair. "You know Holly." His brain was in overdrive trying to think of a good coverup. "She would never do anything like that, I mean, she looks up to you and all that junk."

"So why did she decide to quit?"

"Well, after everything settle, there was a funeral ceremony for you."

Root shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It sure is strange to hear someone talk about your funeral, especially when they are talking about it _with_ you.

"I think she was planning on quitting before then," continued Foaly. "But the funeral was the last straw. Sool refused to let her attend."

The commander's fists clenched. "D'Arvit."

Foaly nodded in agreement. "She was devastated." _There I go with the blabbing again._ "I mean, you would be too if you couldn't attend your commander's, and one of your closest friend's funeral, right?" he was a bit too quick with the latter statement. "Anyways, Holly quit the LEP, and she and Mulch opened up their own PI-"

"WHAT?!" Root jumped out of his seat. "DIGGUMS?!" He stomped over to the pilot room and swung open the door, Foaly galloping behind him. "SHORT!" Holly and Trouble, both out of their suits, turned around in their seats, bewildered.

Root's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. Holly and Trouble had both changed out of their LEPrecon suits, which had become quite tatter from the day's excursions. He stood gaping at Holly in her green dress. Holly, startled, stared back at her commander. Foaly and Trouble gave each other skeptical looks.

Trouble decided to break the awkward silence. "Commander! Good thing you burst in here! I think we need to talk about the situation that awaits us back at the Police Plaza." He shot up and shoved Root out of the pilot room. "Foaly, can you take over as co-pilot?"

* * *

**Six months earlier, Police Plaza ceremony room**

Julius Root watched Holly and Foaly arguing from across the room. Trouble caught his view, and pushed his superior officer in that direction.

"Kelp, what the hell-" The commander and newly promoted major pushed their way through the crowd. _Think of something quick, Julius._ Root told himself. "Short! You're late!" he called. _You just wait, Trouble, you're going to get it._

Root's face softened as he finally caught sight of Holly. Before he could say anything, Trouble chimed in.

"Holly! You clean up nicely!"

_That's an under statement. _Root thought. _A HUGE under statement._

"Don't you agree, Commander, doesn't Holly look great?" Root could sense the wicked grin from Trouble behind him.

"Uh, yes, she looks very pret- presentable. Nice work, Short. Try being punctual next time." _Very suave, Julius, that's one for the book._ He nodded and dragged Trouble away.

When they out of earshot, Trouble burst out laughing. Root slapped him across the head.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" The major was doubled over. "It was PRICELESS! I thought you were either gonna have a heart attack or tear that dress right off!"

Root slapped Trouble again. "Keep your voice down, you idiot!" he barked. "There's no need for the entire force to know about-"

"To know about a certain commander's certain obsession with a certain female captain?"

Root glared at him. "Exactly."

* * *

**The shuttle pod**

"So what was that about, Julius?'" Trouble had his feet up on the table, giving Root the same look he had given him back at the promotion ceremony several months earlier.

"Stop looking at me like that, Kelp!" barked the commander defensively. "I haven't seen her, let alone any of you, in two months!"

Trouble let out a chuckle. "Still obsessing, are you?"

"It's NOT obsessing, Trouble." Root crossed his arms. "It's called an infatuation. And besides that," he paused, turning slightly pink. "She looks good in green."

"I wish I could say the same for you, sir."

"What?"

"Didn't you realize you woke up in a medical outfit?"

There was a silent pause.

"You didn't..."

"I did."

"She didn't…"

"Let's just say that your face isn't the only thing that's red."

Trouble didn't feel it was necessary to mention the medical blanket.

* * *

"Did you see the way he look at me?"

"Well, I'd be surprised too if I saw a girl flying a travel pod in a dress."

Holly kicked the centaur's chair. "You know what I mean!"

Foaly sighed, taking a swig of his carrot juice. "Holly, really! The second he comes back you jump on this again."

Holly blushed, frowning slightly. She was silent for a couple of minutes.

Foaly sighed again. "I'm sorry, Holly." He drank from his cup of carrot juice again. "If it means anything, I think he did like that dress. And it stopped him from yelling at you."

Holly smiled, then snatched the cup from Foaly's hand. "You know, Foal', if you keep drinking this stuff, you're going to turn into a carrot!"

Foaly snatched the cup back. "All the more reason to love myself!

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of New Clothes, and a Broken Nose**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic:_**_ Any other LEP guys/girls you want to see?_


	6. Of New Clothes and a Broken Nose

**Of New Clothes and a Broken Nose**

**The shuttle pod**

"Just go in there!"

"No."

"You'll have to talk to her about it eventually, why not do it now?"

"D'Arvit, I said NO, Trouble!"

Trouble sighed heavily. "Really, Julius," Root cringed at the sound of his first name. "Besides the whole 'Hello, my name is Julius Root, I was suppose to be dead for two months and now I'm back and I'm still in love with one of my top officers' thing, you've got a duty to the People as commander to get back the best damn Recon officer they've ever had!"

Moments later, there was a knock on the pilot room door. "Foaly!" he barked. "Let me take over as co-pilot, I have some things I need to discuss with Captain Short!"

With a glance at Holly, hints of a smirk playing on his face, Foaly clopped out of the room.

"So Captai-"

Root was briefly cut off by Holly. "In case you haven't heard, sir," she didn't take her eyes away from the pilot controls. "It's not Captain anymore."

"Ah." Root said.

She turned to him. "So I guess you can call me Holly, now."

"So... Holly..." Root shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't used to calling his former captain by her first name. After all, it had only happened under severe conditions.

* * *

**Two years earlier, Haven City outskirts**

"These new uniforms are so amazing!" Holly was giving Foaly a mock fashion show in the Ops Booth. The winter green LEP jumpsuits were made to fit, perfect for every shape and size that the officers came in. Not to mention you looked pretty snazzy walking down the street with one of these on.

The pair heard footsteps approaching at quite a fast speed from down the hallway. Moments later, Commander Root burst through the Ops Booth door.

"C-captain Short!" he gasped breathlessly. "Troll invasion!" He was leaning over, catching his breath. "Wings, now. Get out there! You too, pony boy!" He grabbed Holly's arm and the two elves ran down the halls of the Police Plaza.

In less than three minutes, Holly was suited up and ready to go. Several others Recons and a group of the Retrieval boys boarded the pod with Holly.

"Everything all good, Hol'?" chirped Foaly in the captain's ear.

"We're all set and ready, Foaly. Over and out."

"Geesh, you military types and your damn military talk."

There was a rush of static. "What was that, civilian?" Root was on the line. "You've got a problem with military talk? Now Captain, I need you to be careful. You've seen the troll invasion videos, right?"

Holly winced. All LEPrecon trainees were required to watch that training video. It was grotesque beyond any fairies' wildest nightmares. Decapitated gnomes, sprites that were ripped in half; it was horrible. "Yes, sir."

"Okay good, Captain. I don't want to lose one of my best officers. Not today. Stay on guard."

"Yes, sir."

With a buzz of her wings, Holly was off, a glowing Neutrino in her hand. In several minutes she had reached the outskirts of the city. Dozens of trolls were thrashing about below her. The young Captain's stomach flip-flopped.

Foaly's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Lead the boys in quietly, Hol'; you need to secure the perimeter around them before you attack."

"Ten four, Foaly."

"What? It's twelve-thirty, Holly."

Another rush of static. "That means 'okay,' you idiot!" barked Root.

"I love you too, Julius."

Holly signaled for the Retrieval boys to fly ahead of her. They dived down, extracting a beam from their Neutrinos. In seconds, the glowing barrier was around the invasion of trolls.

Root was back on the line. "Listen to me carefully, Captain. You need to nuke those trolls before even one of them reaches the edge of the barrier. That shock from the electricity with send them all in a frenzy, and I'll have two squads of dead fairies on my hands. Split in two; half of you start from the middle out, the other half from the edges in." He took a deep breath, which sounded like a rush of static to Holly. "As soon as you knock them out, get out of there. We're sending in... a cleaning crew."

Holly gulped. "A cleaning crew, sir?"

Another rush of static. "Yeah. Council's orders. The troll population around the city is just getting out of control. We're sending in an EcoBomb."

_An EcoBomb?_ Holly thought. _That's extreme, even for the Council._ "Roger that, sir."

"Make sure you send the confirmation when EVERYONE is cleared, Captain. Do you understand? EVERYONE."

"I understand, sir."

There was a small silence on the line. "And Holly?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Please be careful."

Holly and the rest of the LEP squad flew in and surrounded the trolls. One by one, they picked the trolls off, knocking them unconscious. In several minutes, the fairies met in the middle. Holly breathed a sigh of relief. For once, everything has gone the way it should. No problems. She signaled for the squad to follow her out.

"The area is secured, sir. We're ready to bring in the cleaning crew."

"Roger that, Captain. The cleaning crew is on their way.

SNAP! CRACK!

"What the?!" something hit against Holly's helmet.. She looked below her and saw a half conscious troll throwing rocks in her direction. One by one, the trolls started moving. The stun blasts were not enough.

"They're going to move out of the EcoBomb range!" Holly flew in closer, stunning the trolls closest to the barrier boundaries. She heard the buzzing of the cleaning crew in the distance. After taking one last shot at a staggering troll, she got ready to join the rest of her squad.

"D'Arvit!" Holly felt a rock tear through her left wing. She felt herself to start plummeting towards the ground. And the trolls. And the EcoBomb. Mind racing, Holly thought of all the possible options she had. She could only come up with one that would keep her alive. Turning her Neutrino to it's fullest level, the Captain shot the gun, using the force of the blast to send her propelling out of the EcoBomb explosion's path. Then everything went black.

"Captain Short!" barked Root in her ear. "Report. What's your status?"

There was silence.

"I repeat, Captain Short, What's your status? Report!"

More silence.

"Foaly, are the ComLinks active?"

On Foaly's end of the line, the sound of keyboard clicking was heard. "Yeah, Julius. Everything's in working order."

The first name comment went right over the commander's head. "Captain Short? Report!" Root's stomach clurghed. "Foaly, get me a visual from Short's helmet."

"Way ahead of you, Julius." There was more keyboard clicking.

The video flashed on Root's screen. There was something wrong... something about the way the camera was angled...

"Holly?"

Still no response.

In what seemed like a split second, Root was down at the Ops Booths, wings on his back, fiddling with the ComLink on his helmet. "Foaly," he growled. "I'm going out there."

Foaly nodded. "Yes, sir." Now was not the time for jokes. His best friend's life was on the line.

In no time Root was at the scene. He scanned the area. "Everything seems to be working alright, Foaly." Around the corner, Root found the Retrieval and Recon teams. They seemed to be standing around waiting for something. "Cadet!" He ran up to one of the Retrieval boys. "What are you waiting for?"

The elf turned around. "We're waiting for Captain Short, sir. We're suppose to follow her orders, but she's not back yet."

Root's stomach ulcer nearly exploded in his stomach. "Oh no," he groaned. The worst-case scenarios were running through his head. Without another word, Root broke into a sprint around the barrier that the EcoBomb went off in. His stomach clenched as he rounded another corner. There in sight was Holly's limp form collapsed on the ground. Her entire right side was bloodied, and parts of her uniform were ripped where she had skidded against the ground. He approached her with a gasp. "Holly..."

"Have you found her, Julius?" asked Foaly in the commander's ear.

"Yeah..." Root switched on his helmet camera, pointing it at Holly.

Root scooped Holly into his arms as gently as he could. Holly didn't open her eyes. Her head fell against his chest. "D'Arvit, this isn't good, Foaly."

Deep within her coma-like state, Holly knew she was being held by someone, but who was it? She felt her head move up and down with the rhythm of their breathing. Was it Trouble? No, the arms seemed a bit big for Trouble. They gave off such a nice, warm feeling, though.

"Send Captain Kelp out here to get the rest of the boys in."

"And Holly?"

"I have her. We'll be at the Police Plaza in ten."

"Are you sure, Julius? No offense, but you're not the most gentlest of elves. I can get a team of medic warlocks there in a heartbeat."

"I have her, pony boy! I can take care of my own officer." Root sounded a bit agitated.

"You're not exactly known for being the best caretaker, sir."

"Holly's well being is just as important to me as it is to you, Foaly."

"And by that, you mean that if anything happened to her, you would lose one of your officers?"

Root was only getting more frustrated with the tech nerd. "Now listen here, you stupid centaur. I have a job to do, and in order to do that job I have to take charge, and if that means yelling, than that means yelling. Just because I yell at my subordinates doesn't mean I don't care about them. I am very concerned with Captain Short's current state. She IS the best officer I have." He paused, carefully thinking about his words. "And she is my friend, and I have every right in the world to worry about her."

Foaly was silent. "Right, sir. Hurry back."

A little while later, Holly felt herself be gently lowered onto something nice and soft. She was slowly drifting into consciousness, but the pain and exhaustion was overwhelming her.

Root brushed several short strands of hair off of Holly's forehead. "It's always you, Holly." he said softly. Holly stirred at this sign of affection, startling her commander. "Holly! Are you awake?"

Holly struggled to open up her eyes. She was in immense pain. Her gazed tried to focus in on the reddish man hovering over her. She tried to register who this man was. "J-Julius?"

Root leaned forward and hugged Holly. He quickly jerked away, and instead opted to slap his captain on the back, much to her painful chagrin.

"Holly!" he blurted. "I mean, Captain. You made it."

* * *

**The shuttle pod**

"Yes, sir?" Holly looked at Julius.

"Trouble tells me that you opened up your own PI service with Diggums."

Holly laughed. "Yeah, we did."

There was a period of awkward silence.

Root finally bursted. "Holly, you can't serious think of staying there? You have to come back to the force! I can't imagine how the LEP is without Captain Short, and I'm a bit scared of what I'm going to see once we get back to headquarters. Once we sort out what will happen with my return and Trouble's new position, things will be the same, if not better. You must come back."

Holly crossed her arms. "No offense sir, but I'll do what I want to do. I've talked to Trouble about this before."

"Captain, don't be foolish! Do you really think that this silly PI thing will work out?"

With a huff, Holly stormed out of the pilot room. "D'ARVIT! IT'S NOT 'CAPTAIN' ANYMORE!"

Root gaped at the empty chair that once held the ex-captain. After a moment, he snapped out of his daze. "HOLLY, WAIT!" He ran to the door and then...

SMASH.

Root was on the floor, clutching at his nose.

* * *

"Who does he think he is," grumbled Foaly. "Kicking me out of my seat like he freaking owns the ship. Man the things I do for Holly..."

Trouble laughed, his feet still up on the table. "I hate to break this to you, Foaly, but he's the top man again." He paused for a second. "Wait, what do you mean 'the things I do for Holly?'" He sat upright, staring down Foaly.

_There goes the big mouth again!_ "Nothing, nothing!" Foaly waved it off.

In a split second, Trouble had Foaly in a half bear-hug, half strangle. "Spill the beans you buck-toothed donkey!"

"Argh!" choked Foaly. "No... I... can't..." Trouble's grin got even more menacing as he let go of Foaly with one arm and pulled back on the poor centaur's ears.

"Ahh! Okay! Okay! Just let me go!" Trouble released his grip, satisfied with his work.

"Okay," Foaly rubbed his ears. "I am NOT saying this. Holly does NOT love Julius. She has NOT been obsessing over him for the past couple of years. She DOESN'T want to marry him and have a couple little red-faced elf babies. She DIDN'T almost have a heart attack when she saw him again. And you DIDN'T hear this from me." The tech genius crossed his arms. "So there."

The wicked grin from Trouble's face was gone. His jaw had dropped about three feet, which in elven standards, is quite some distance. After some silence, Trouble finally found his voice. "D'Arvit," he breathed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" asked Foaly. "That someone as beautiful as Holly could like someone as... Julius as Julius?" he reached inside of the small cooler in the room to grab another cup of carrot juice.

"Not just that," said Trouble as a smile spread across his face. "But the fact that the feeling is mutual between the two of them."

Foaly dropped the container of carrot juice in his hands.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Commander! I'm so sorry!" Holly was on the floor in a split second, helping the fallen Beetroot. "I didn't know that you were behind the door. I didn't mean that outburst, really, I didn't-" She helped him into the chair.

"Eet's ohkah, Hollee, eet's ohkah!" Root had both of his hands on his nose, blood glistening all over his front.

"You don't have any magic, do you sir? Here, let me help." Root revealed his bloodied and now slightly misshaped nose, and Holly placed her hands on it.

"Heal."

Blue sparked circled around Holly's hands and Root's face. A jolt suddenly shook the travel pod.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?!" Foaly was trying to mop up his spilt carrot juice when he was sent flying across the room.

Trouble balanced himself against the table. "I think we might have hit something!" He helped Foaly up and the two proceeded to the pilot room. Foaly of course, had to grab another cup of carrot juice before hand.

And like before, this cup of carrot juice did last long either.

"HOLLY! COMMANDER! WHAT IN FROND'S NAME?!"

That shaking was quite a bit more than Holly and Root had asked for. Holly was straddled on Root's right knee, her hands on his nose. Julius was holding Holly on her waist. They were pressed hard against the wall.

Foaly dropped his second cup of carrot juice.

"Foaly! Trouble!" Holly jumped off of Root, a shade of red that was brighter than any shade he had ever achieved. "I hit the commander with the door and it busted his nose and he didn't have any magic and I said I would heal him and it was an intense healing and it shook the ship and we ended up like this!" She took a few deep breaths after spurting out that mouthful of information.

Root got out of the seat, rubbing his once again perfect nose. He looked at Trouble and Foaly, both of whom had identical looks of amazement, confusion, and slyness on their faces. "Stop looking at me like that! What Short said is the truth!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Everyone's heads turned towards the computer.

"It looks like we're home." Foaly said.

"Most of us, anyways." Root muttered under his breath.

Holly looked at her commander. "No, you mean all of us, sir." She smiled at him. "I think you can call me captain again."

* * *

_There's a hidden quote from the first Artemis Fowl book hidden in here. Here's a clue! It's towards the end of the book and is said by a male elf. Whoever gets it will get a guest appearance in an upcoming chapter of either themselves or an original character!_

_Stay tuned for the next installment, **Of Different Skins and Gamble Wins.**_

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic:_**_ Who should be the new commander? Root? Trouble? Sool? Foaly?_


	7. Of Different Skins and Gamble Wins

**Of Different Skins and Gamble Wins**

**Outside the Police Plaza**

"Are you ready to go in?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"...now?"

"D'arvit Foaly! Alright! I'll go in!"

Julius Root stood outside the docking area of the Police Plaza with Foaly. They had been there for almost twenty minutes, as Root was afraid to enter.

"Alright, c'mon, Julius, we can't keep Holly and Trouble waiting!" Foaly gave the commander a kick in the behind and the two entered the docking area. Holly and Trouble were waiting for them.

"That took you long enough!" said Trouble. "Geesh, the coast has been clear the entire time."

Foaly patted Root on the back. "Julius here was afraid, weren't you?" He cooed in the most annoying baby voice thought possible.

"There's nothing to be scared of sir," began Holly with a sly smile. "We'll get you right to the hospital ward and then call in the Council to sort everything out. Before you know it, this place will be just like it used to be."

Root barked at them. "Will you all shut it! I'm not scar-"

CRASH!

Everyone's head jerked around to see several boxes tumble down from their shelves. A small figure emerged from the pile.

"Oww! I'm definitely filing a complaint against dangerous shelving and pointy boxes. How can they expect me to work in these conditions?"

"GRUB!" shouted everyone in unison.

Grub Kelp adjusted his uniform and brushed the dust off himself. He noticed the bewildered stares of everyone around him and turned bright red.

"Uh, I was checking to make sure... that the boxes were safe!" he stammered. "And um, as you can see, they definitely are not! I was almost killed. Just wait until Mommy hears."

There were suspicious looks all around.

He continued. "And I definitely WASN'T eavesdropping on how you found the dead commander and are trying to bring him back here. I mean, because I definitely wasn't angry that you guys got to leave that boring ceremony with the horrible food and uncomfortable chairs."

There was an awkward silence.

"W-well, I'd better go file that complaint." Grub began to leave. "Oh, and welcome back, Commander." With that, he ran off.

After Grub had left, Root turned to Trouble. "Trouble," he began. "Your brother isn't going to blab this to all his prissy security buddies, is he?"

"Of course not," replied Trouble. "He'll tell the entire Police Plaza."

* * *

**Police Plaza**

"COMMANDER!"

Both Trouble and Root jerked their heads around.

"COMMANDER KELP! WHAT IN FROND'S NAME DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING!" Wing Commander Vinyáya dashed towards him. "YOU RUN OUT OF THE CEREMONY WITH THAT CRAZY CENTAUR, NOT TELLING US WHERE YOU WERE GOING, NOT EVEN ASKING FOR THE EXCUSE, BUT JUST LEAVING!" She was out of breath by the time she reached him.

"Vin, I-"

"DON'T YOU 'VIN' ME, YOUNG MAN! I'M FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLDER THAN YOU! NOW, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DO-"

At this point, Root stepped out from behind Trouble.

"Hello Vin."

Vinyáya's eyes got extremely wide. "J-Julius?" She pulled him into a tight embrace. Julius patted her awkwardly on the pat. "What under earth are you doing here?!"

Trouble and Foaly exchanged glances. The former looked at his imaginary watch. "Oh my gosh! Look at the time!" He grabbed Root by the arm, ripping him from the embrace. "We need to get you to the hospital ward! I'll explain everything later, Vin!"

Trouble and Foaly broke into a sprint (a gallop for Foaly) down the corridor. Holly gave an awkward wave to a still shocked and emotional Vinyáya, and followed.

* * *

**The hospital ward**

Holly sat in a waiting chair next to Trouble outside of the hospital ward. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the arm. "D'arvit! How long does it take to give someone an examination?"

Trouble gave her a sly look. "Not too long." He shifted in his chair. "Why do you care so much, Holly?"

Holly turned pink. "W-well, why shouldn't I? He was my commander. He _is_ my commander. "

"Uh huh." Trouble shook his head with a smile. "So, are you really going to come back to Recon after all this?"

Holly leaned back in her seat and smiled, glad for a change of subject. "Yup! Considering that Sool's gone, and things are going to return close to normal, I definitely want to. And I have my other reasons." She punched Trouble in the arm playfully. "So what are you and Julius going to do about the whole 'two commanders' thing?"

"Did you just call him Julius?"

"What?"

"Beetroot. You called him Julius."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"...oh."

There was a small silence.

"Just admit you like him."

"WHAT?!"

Before Holly had a change to tackle Trouble, one of the nurses came out to get them. They went into the hospital ward to see the commander.

"Any word of this," growled Holly beneath her breath.

"I know, I know."

They approached Root's bed. The commander was sitting on the edge of it, swinging his shoulder and cracking his fingers.

"Woah, Commander, where'd you get those arms!" gaped Trouble.

Root barked a laugh. "It's a skin, you idiot. They put a skin over those mechanical junkies that were glued to me. Temperature sensitivity, touch sensitivity, artificial nerves, element-proof, it's exactly like a new limb, really fantastic. But don't tell Foaly I told you that."

"Too late!" Foaly entered the hospital ward, munching on an oversized carrot. He was stuffing several coins into his newly acquired lab jacket.

"Woah, what's with the money, high roller?" asked Holly.

"Remember that bet of when ol' Beetroot would explode? Well, considering that he really didn't explode yet, I demanded my betting back, and viola!"

Trouble coughed, trying to hide his laugh. He looked over at Holly who was doing the same thing, then looked at Root, who was redder than he had ever been.

* * *

_Stay tuned for the next installment, **Of Mistaken Sisters and Boiling Blisters.**_

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic_**_: Any other minor couples you would like to see?_


	8. Of Mistaken Sisters and Boiling Blisters

**Of Mistaken Sisters and Boiling Blisters**

**Commander Root's office**

"SHORT GET IN HERE!"

Holly sighed. Life at the Plaza was pretty much back to normal.

Julius Root was commander again, with Trouble Kelp as second commander. Trouble didn't mind. After all, being second-in-command was worth it if it meant having one of your comrades and friend back. Besides that, the job wasn't any different, except for much less paperwork. And Trouble liked the much less paperwork.

Holly came back as a major, via the demands of Commander Root and Commander Kelp. Enjoying a higher paycheck and the same freedoms of a captain, Holly was quite happy with her new job.

Foaly was just as Foaly-ish as ever. The centaur praised himself for the return of everyone's beloved commander, and never let anyone forget it. Not to mention having Holly back. Every day at the Plaza was like a day at the arcade for the tech genius.

As for Mulch? He and Holly set up the Private Eye Alliance with the Police Plaza. This was not after Root tried to arrest Mulch. Twice. Every day. In his first week back. Holly and Trouble finally convinced the Commander of Mulch's "goodness," and the PEA was set up.

Two months later, everything was as it should be. For the most part.

Holly entered her superior's office. "Yes, Commander?"

"What is THIS, Short?!" A red-face Root presented a pile of paperwork, none of it done.

Holly blushed and stammered. "That's uh, undone paperwork."

Root gave her a strange look. "Yes, well, I can see that." He put the paperwork down. "Close the door."

Holly's heart sank. She always dreaded these meetings.

"Now listen, Holly." Root gestured for her to sit down. "I know you and Trouble are good friends, and I know that he is going to let you get away with more than you should." Root fought the urge to reach inside his desk and grab a fungus cigar. Since his near death experience, he's been trying to quit. "And I know we are also friends, but I don't want you to think because of past experiences that I am going to let you get away with anything you shouldn't get away with. We're professionals, here."

Holly felt her cheeks getting hot with embarrassment. "I understand, sir."

"You can go now." He handed her the pile of paperwork. "And fill this all out like you're supposed to!" With that, Root swirled around in his chair.

* * *

**Major Short's office**

Holly threw the paperwork on her desk and began working on it.

Hooves were heard outside of the room. Foaly entered with a box full of old disks. "Hey Holly, I need some help sorting through these surveillance videos-"

Holly looked up from her writing and gave Foaly a death stare.

"Woah, I didn't know you hated sorting disks so much." Foaly walked over and peer over Holly's papers. "Paperwork, yikes."

Holly gave him another glare.

Foaly put the box of disks down and sat on the couch in Holly's office. "What, did Beetroot yell at you? He did it all the time, why should now be any different?"

Holly stopped what she was doing and leaned back in her chair. "Because things ARE different, Foaly. Don't you feel it? And I don't even mean just the commander. Everything around here is different."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Agreed Foaly. Actually, Foaly felt that Holly was very right. Things have seemed very different since Commander Root came back. But for Foaly, this wasn't necessarily a good different. Something was bothering him, and he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"I have this feeling that something is going to happen soon, Foaly." Holly continued her paperwork.

"Yeah," replied Foaly absentmindedly. "Me too."

* * *

**Commander Root's office**

"Stupid papers. Stupid workers. Stupid Council. Stupid cigars. Stupid lights."

Trouble Kelp walked into his fellow commander's office. He leaned against the door. "Woah, someone's in a nasty mood."

"Yeah well, you would be too." growled Root in return.

"So I've heard." Trouble had a disappointed look on his face.

"What?"

"Foaly told me you thrashed Holly earlier."

Root turned bright red. "How the hell did the pony find out! Does the whole Plaza know?!"

Trouble waved his arms, trying to get the commander to calm down. "No, no! Just us four. Now listen." Like an obedient dog, Root automatically became quiet. "If you keep this act up, there's going to be no chance for you two. Now you want a chance, don't you?"

Root nodded.

"You are in love with her, aren't you?"

Root nodded.

"THEN STOP ACTING LIKE A SHELLSHOCKED NORWEGIAN TROLL!"

Root nodded.

"Now get down to her office and tell you that you're sorry you snapped at her!"

Root nodded.

"GO!"

The commander dashed out of the room and down the hallway.

* * *

**Major Short's office**

"Foaly," Holly pressed the ComLink on her desk. "Make sure to remind the Commanders that I'm leaving early."

A rush of static then a reply came. "Will do, Hol'. Send your sister my wishes!"

A long and polish nail pressed the ComLink this time. "Thanks cutie!"

Holly shook her head. "Alright Xanthe, I'm going to head down to the cafeteria real fast before we leave. Do you want anything?"

"No thanks, sweetie, I'm just going to enjoy myself in your office."

Holly shook her head again and left the room.

Moments later, footsteps approached from the opposite direction. Commander Root knocked on Holly's office door.

"Hello? Major Short, can I have a word with you?"

There was no answer.

"Major, it's Commander Root, I'm requesting to speak with you."

Still no answer.

Root sighed. "I came to apologize for yelling at you."

Nothing.

"Holly, please." Root leaned against the door. "I am very sorry that I upset you. I'm only trying to do what's best for the Plaza. What's best for you. I know I yell at you. Alot. I yell at everyone. Every since I almost died, I've been trying to cut back on all that, I really have. I'm trying to become a better person and a better commander. I've even given up my cigars! But it's not going to be an overnight thing, Holly."

Still silence.

The commander sank into a half sitting position. "What I'm trying to say, Holly, is that I didn't mean to yell at you. You're one of the last people in this building that I would want to yell at. I know it may not always seem this way, but I do hold our friendship in high regards, both inside and outside of the work atmosphere."

He heard a faint taping from within the room, but still no response.

Root felt franticness sneaking into his voice. "Let me make it up to you." The next words didn't even feel like they were coming from his mouth. "I'll take you out to dinner. Just us. No work business. No yelling. Just two friends."

Someone started to open up the door.

"Holly! Thank Fro-"

"Holly's not here." Xanthe leaned against the door, picking at her nails. "I'm her sister, and she's getting water or something."

Root's jaw dropped to the ground. "Wait, sister? What?"

Xanthe sigh. "Yes, yes, sister. Twin sister, more specifically. I'm the pretty and fashionable one from Atlantis. You're that Roof… Rook... Root, guy, right? Holly's told me about you."

Root was speechless. "W-well, can you tell her I stopped by?"

"Uh-huh, sure think." She reached into her purse and pull out a strangely shaped bottle. "Here, use this. It's lotion; your complexion is horrid."

* * *

**Police Plaza cafeteria**

"Well, how did it go?" Trouble sat down next to Root in the cafeteria.

Root dug into his pocket and pulled out of the bottle of lotion.

Trouble grin mischievously. "Hey, hey, hey! She gave you lotion!" He nudged Root in the ribs.

Root glared at Trouble, grabbed his head, and slammed it into his food tray. The red-faced commander then got up from the table.

* * *

**Haven City streets**

Holly sipped on a water while she drove herself and her sister back to her apartment. "So how did you like the Plaza, Xanthe?"

"It was nice," replied Xanthe, sipping on a cup of mocha coffee (all the rage in Atlantis). "So plain, though. You guys really need to hire an interior designer."

Holly laughed. "Yeah, like the Commander would make any room in the budget for that."

"Oh!" Xanthe exclaimed, almost spilling her drink. "He stopped by your office while you were down in the cafeteria. He was apologizing about something, I don't know what, and was blabbing on about stupid stuff. And he asked you out."

Holly slammed so hard on the breaks that it spilt Xanthe's blistering hot coffee all over. "WHAT?!"

* * *

_Congrats to Trouble Kelp (the writer on this website) for catching the quote! Her original character, Xanthe, was featured in this chapter._

_Stay tuned for the next installment, **Of Closed Doors and Hot Cores**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic:_** _How soon would you like to see some romance?_


	9. Of Closed Doors and Hot Cores

**Of Closed Doors and Hot Cores**

**Commander Root's office**

"Trouble, did you know that Holly has a sister?"

Commander Trouble Kelp looked up from the Sexy Stripped Sprites magazine he was reading. "Yeah, Xanthe, right? I've met her. What about her?"

"Well, it's complicated." His fellow commander fiddled with a paper weight on his overcrowded desk. "I took your advice and tried to apologize to Holly, but I found her sister instead. I'm relying on her to relay the message.

Trouble snorted. "Good luck with that."

"You mean she's not a reliable messenger?" asked Root anxiously.

"I'm trust a liquefied rock before her."

"D'Arvit."

* * *

**Police Plaza entrance hallway**

Holly Short paced nervously outside of the Police Plaza door, muttering to herself. She had checked her appearance in the reflection of the door about fifty times, and went over what she was going to say to the elf of her dreams twice that. "Holly, what are you doing?" She told her reflection. "You're the top officer in LEPrecon. You've taken down goblins, trolls, and Mud Men! You can handle this!"

The Major walked through the doors and made her way to the office.

"LOOKING GOOD TODAY, HOLLY!" chirped Chix Verbil from down the hallway.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Holly," commented Grub Kelp timidly as they boarded the elevator together. "That's great!"

"Go get him, Holly!" called Foaly as she passed his computer lab.

"It's gonna be a good day today, Holly. Can you feel it?" Trouble slapped Holly on the back as she walked by.

Holly's heart skipped a beat as she saw Julius Root approached from down the hallway. To her oblivion, the heads of Trouble and Foaly poked from behind the corner, eager to see take place what they've both been waiting months for. She slowed her pace. "Good morning, Julius," she said in the most strenuous combination of flirting, seduction, inconspicuousness, and business ever thought possible.

The commander barely glanced up from the file folder he was studying. "Yes, yes, good morning, Major." He grumbled in reply as he continued walking.

Holly jaw dropped in confusion and heartbreak. She turned around, shocked, as she watched the elf of her dreams walk ignorantly away from her.

Trouble's and Foaly's glared at Root as he passed by them. He turned and gave them a look. "What's wrong with you two?" he snapped.

"What just happened?" Foaly whispered to his fellow eavesdropper. "I thought he was going to ask her out?"

"I thought so too," replied Trouble quietly, watching as Holly slumped her way to her office. "You know, Foaly, I think-"

"It's time we take matters into our own hands?"

"Exactly." Trouble looked behind him to where the red-faced commander was still walking. "I'll take Beetroot, you work on Holly. If we don't get these two together by the end of today, I'll eat my badge."

"Aye-aye, Commander Trouble!" Foaly gave a quirky salute and galloped off to follow Holly.

Trouble shook his head. _Man I hope this works._

* * *

**Commander Root's office**

_D'Arvit, Julius, you completely blew it!_ Julius gritted his teeth as he angrily stamped paperwork. _"Yes, yes, good morning, Major?" What kind of greeting is that?!_ He stamped right through a file on gnome rebellion, tearing a huge hole in it. "D'Arvit not another one!"

The commander was startled by a furious knock on the door. "COMMANDER!" roared the knocker, before nearly tearing the door down.

"Trouble!" Root clutched his frantically beating heart. "What in Frond's name was that for?"

"Stop acting like you don't know." Trouble's usual handsomely cool face was almost as red as his superior's. He put a hand on Julius' desk and glared at him.

Julius snuffed at the younger elf. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't burst through my superiors' doors with a killer's intent on a regular basis." He continued stamping the paperwork.

"For a commander, you are extremely thick-headed, Julius." replied Trouble.

"And what do you mean by that, Kelp?"

"Did you think that Holly look especially pretty today?"

"She's beautiful every day, but yes, I did."

"Did she seem especially happy?"

"I suppose. Yes, I guess she did."

"Especially social?"

"Yes, yes, Trouble. Holly was especially special today. What's your point?"

"Why do you think Holly was doing all those things?" asked Trouble, raising an eyebrow.

"How should I know?!" barked Julius. "She could be having a good day."

Trouble shook his head. "Has it ever occurred to you that she might have been doing it all for you?

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Major Short's office**

"Holly, can I come in?" Foaly knocked on the Major's office door. He poked his head in timidly, finding Holly mindlessly looking over paperwork.

"I don't get it, Foaly. One day he's yelling my head off. The next day he's asking me out. The next day he's totally ignoring me. I just don't understand him."

"Holly, I-"

"Ugh," she continued. "I guess that's what I get for listening to my sister. She's always twisting words.

"Holly, if you would just listen-"

"How could I be so stupid?! Like he would actually ask me out. What, are we back in the Academy?"

"Holly-"

"And what was I thinking, anyways. He's half a millennium older than me and-"

"Holly, will you listen to me!" interjected Foaly. "Trouble and I have been keeping tabs on you since we brought the commander back." He nervously ran a hand over his tinfoil hat. "And uh, he likes you. The commander. A lot."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Commander Root's/Major Short's office**

"So we've been watching you guys-" said Trouble.

"-and how you've been acting towards one another-" said Foaly.

"-not in a creepy way, mind you, Julius, but when you told me that you loved her-"

"-don't think we're some kind of stalkers, Holly, but ever since you admitted that you were head over heels for him-"

"-Foaly told me that she felt the same way-"

"-Trouble said he had the hots for you too-"

"-Since then, we've been trying-"

"-To get you two together-"

"And D'Arvit, you two are impossible."

"You've got to be kidding me." breathed Julius Root and Holly Short at the same time, only a hallway separating them.

Both of the elves rose from their office chairs and started down the hallway, their hearts set on the other.

_I can't believe this is actually happening!_

_She really does feel the same way?_

They both broke into a quick jog, which led to a steady trot, which led to a near run, which led to-

BAM!

-a collision.

"Holly!" exclaimed the commander as he rubbed his newly bruised arm. He offered her a hand as he stood up himself.

Holly took his hand, then looked up to met her commander's eyes. Her breath quickened as his face got closer to hers. She closed her eyes just as their noses touched and-

"COMMANDER ROOT! COMMANDER ROOT!" Wing Commander Vinyáya was frantically running down the hallway! She stopped, breathless, when she spotted him. "Julius, thank Frond I found you! We have a problem!" She glanced over at Holly, whose hand was still being held by the red-faced Commander's, and gave her a strange look. "Uh, am I… interrupting something?"

Holly quickly dropped the hand, turning red. "What's the trouble, Commander Vinyáya?"

Vinyáya shook off what she had just seen. "The core is overheating! We need to evacuate the Haven!"

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of Cowardly Traitors and Smoking Craters**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic_**_: Any love for Trouble?_


	10. Of Cowardly Traitors and Smoking Craters

**Of Cowardly Traitors and Smoking Craters**

**Police Plaza docking area**

The entire Police Plaza was in an uproar. Officers were running every which way, armed with guns and wings, trying to get out of the building. In the city outside, everyone was calm. All of the Haven civilians had no idea of the turmoil that was boiling beneath their beloved home.

Holly Short secured her helmet on her head. "Foaly, can you hear me?" she asked into the ComLink.

"I can hear you just fine, Hol'." Holly snapped around to see her friend behind her, a helmet in his hand. The brainiac centaur had lost the tinfoil and had come out of his computer sanctuary.

"Foaly, you're coming with us? Isn't that a little out of character for you?" teased Holly as she snapped the rest of her equipment into place.

Foaly snorted as he put his helmet on. "Yeah right. Stay here and get blown up into oblivion when the core explodes the entire city? No thanks."

"So you'd rather get blown up in the actual core?"

"Yes. Saves me the drama."

Holly and Foaly hurried to the loading dock, where Commander Trouble and Commander Root were waiting.

"Good, is everyone here?" asked Trouble. "We have orders from Council to try and cool the core before taking any further actions or warning the city. Vinyáya and company are following shortly behind us."

"A stupid move on Council's part if you ask me," grumbled Root. "They don't want to cause an uproar unless they absolutely have to. Leave it to Council to put everyone's lives at sake." He pointed to the tall Police Plaza tower above him. "A group of officers are waiting in that tower. If we are completely unable to cool the core, we are ordered to contact them to start evacuating the city."

Foaly's jaw dropped. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"This could turn into a one way mission," noted Holly softly. "How could Council be so foolish?"

"No matter what they say, we have to follow it," spat Trouble bitterly. He opened the door to the speeder pod they were using. "Let's not waste any more time. We need to take action."

The quartet entered the speeder pod and they took off into the earth's core.

* * *

**An undisclosed place**

"They'll be here soon, sir."

"Is everything set up the way it should be, Jook?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

* * *

**The earth's core**

The foursome continued into the earth's core.

Trouble wiped the sweat from his brow. "Do we have the air conditioner turn up all the way?" he whined.

"For the last time, Trouble, yes we do. We're in the earth's core. It's going to be hot." Root exhaustedly replied. He stole a quick glance over to Holly, who was fanning herself with an instruction manual.

"Holly! Julius! Come see this!"

Holly jumped out of her seat and ran to the window. Trouble and Foaly both had their faces pressed against it. Ahead of them was a bright glowing blue light in a crevasse in the core walls. The temperature seemed to be getting cooler.

Holly felt someone behind her. "Trouble, pull into that crack. That doesn't look normal." Commander Root put his arm above Holly's head to support himself against the window.

"Commander, do you think it's safe to go in there?" asked Holly. "We don't know who or what could be waiting for us. What if it's a trap?"

Julius smiled. "You're started to sound like me, Holly." Holly raised an eyebrow playfully at him.

"Okay, can you two lovebirds get your groove on another time? I think we should contact Vinyáya and the others about this." Trouble teased. He tapped his ComLink.

"Vin? It's Trouble."

No answer.

"Commander Vinyáya? This is Commander Kelp, with Commander Root, Major Short, and Foaly. Do you read me?"

Still no answer.

"That's weird," commented Foaly, tapping on Trouble's ComLink. "These babies always work when we're in the core. Even in temperatures like this. I don't like th-"

BAM.

Something hit the side of the speeder pod.

"D'Arvit! What the hell is going on?!" Trouble grasped the steering, trying to get the pod under control again. They barrel rolled into the glowing blue gap, crashing inside of it. The power went out.

"Is everyone alright?" hollered Commander Root. "Roll call. This is Commander Root. Major Short?"

"I'm here!" called Holly from the darkness.

"Commander Kelp?"

A crash was heard. "D'Arvit! I'm good!"

"Foaly?"

"Augh, centaurs aren't suppose to bend that way." Foaly groaned from under a smashed seat. "I'm okay!"

Root got to his feet and took out an emergency light. He scanned the crashed speeder pod. It was a complete disaster. All of the seats were smashed, the controls were in millions of pieces, and the roof had caved in. "All of you," he barked. "If you can, take out your emergency light and wave it so I can find you."

At that command, three tiny lights shot out of the rubble. With some effort, the quartet was able to get out of the destroyed speeder pod. Much to their dismay, they had a surprise greeting when they finally stepped into the glowing blue core.

"You are to come with us, sirs!" chirped the hundreds of gremlins that surround them in unison. Each was harmed with a stun gun and miniature reflectors.

"What in Frond's name is going on?!" demanded Root as two gremlins snapped cuffs onto his arms.

"I thought you little pricks were on our side! What the hell?!" Trouble attempted to kick the gremlin that put cuffs on him, only to get shocked by his stun gun.

"You will all find out soon enough, sirs."

They cuffed the remaining two and led them down the passageway that they had crashed in. As they progressed further and further into the core, the blue glow got stronger and stronger, and the temperature got colder and colder.

"What gives?" asked Holly. "I thought the core was overheating! Why is it so cold in here now?"

"We were dying from the heat on our way here! What the hell is going on?!" added Root.

"Those damn gremlins! I knew there was something weird about them!" piped in Trouble.

"My gadgets won't work..." sniffled Foaly sadly.

"How could you all turn against us like this?!" spat Root angrily.

"Ah, but how can someone turn against you, Julius," The gremlins brought their four prisoners to a stop in front of a shadowed figure at the end of the passageway. "When they were never on your side to begin with?" Ex-Commander Ark Sool stepped into sight. "It's been some time, hasn't it, Julius?

"Sool?!" Root exclaimed. He turned to Trouble. "I thought you said he resigned!" He pointed an accusing finger at the ex-commander. "So are you the one behind this mishap with the core overheating?!"

"And what's the deal with those things?!" Holly motioned towards the gremlins surrounding them.

Sool crossed his arms at Holly's outburst. "Always here to save the day, aren't you Miss Short? You and your little crew of crime fighting idiots." He laughed. "Well not this time."

"Just what are you planning, Sool?" demanded Root.

"I don't understand you, Root." replied Sool. "Everyone loved you. Despite how nasty you were, despite how many times you yelled, despite how awful those cigars of yours smelt, everyone still respected you. And when you were gone, I thought they were going to do the same for me. But they didn't. Was it my fault that you were gone? Of course not! They had no right to hold your absence against me! And then that Short made me look even worse. How on earth can the entire Lower Elements chose a Mud Boy loving girl over an intellectual and experienced leader? After that entire fiasco, they hated me! Everyone! So what did I do? I wanted to annihilate the source of my problems. To my dismay, the source of my problems had already been taken care of. You were dead, or so I thought."

Root growled angrily at the ex-commander.

"The Sool family has strong connections with the gremlin race, dating back before Haven City was even established. Was it a coincidence that the gremlins found you, Julius? No. There are no coincidences. There is only fate. My gremlin friends informed me of a mangle police officer they found, and I immediately knew who it was and how I could get my revenge."

"That still doesn't explain how they were able to bypass my sensors," cut in Foaly. "Root was officially dead according to my computers!"

"Well centaur," continued Sool. "There was one flaw with your equipment. You had it programmed so that as soon as the wearer's brain and organs stopped sending signals to the helmet and suit, it would commence its self-destruct mode, which would take about five minutes to complete. You never calculated, however, a return to life."

Foaly's eyes widened. "Of course. When a body goes into immense physical and physiological shock, it completely shuts down, like a computer rebooting. For that period of time, the person essentially 'dies.'"

"Exactly. Root _was_, in a sense, dead, but only for a few seconds. Your helmet immediately went into self-destruct mode, but when his body vitals kicked back in, the computer didn't know what to do, and it short-circuited. To all your computers, it would seem that the helmet had indeed self-destructed. When the gremlins found him, they reprogrammed the helmet, blocking all incoming and outcoming sensors. When the time came, they would send out his vitals so you would pick them up, centaur."

"D'Arvit!" cursed Foaly. "I knew something was wrong with all of this!"

"It was then that I began to formulate my plan. I resigned from my position, much to the happiness of the Police Plaza. Kelp took my place, just as I wanted. I knew he would bring Holly back. With the two closest people to yourself in such high power, things were running perfectly. Once you were on your way to recovery, the gremlins sent out the radar wave to Foaly's computer. That idiot centaur picked up the connection, and as planned," He pointed to Holly and Trouble. "They set out to find you. I bet the Plaza seem perfect after that, right? The great Julius Root was back, with Trouble Kelp and Holly Short at his side." Sool let out a laugh. "It's not going to last much longer. You see, I was the one who 'heated up' the core. Or so you idiots thought. It's a wonder why that old hag Vinyáya has such a high rank. That dumbass was oblivious to our manmade heat waves. Seemed like it went over your donkey's head too."

"Hey! In my defense, I was preoccupied with something and didn't even see the computers that detected them!" spat Foaly bitterly.

"So you sent out fake heat waves to trick us?" asked Trouble angrily.

"Exactly." Sool motioned for the gremlins to take the four prisoners and follow him into the next room. The room was so incredibly bright with blue light that the foursome had to shield their eyes. Sool took out a pair of reflective goggles, while the gremlins seemed unaffected.

"Impressive, isn't it?" He patted the source of the blue glow, a large rotating blue sphere set in a circular groove. "This is a BluBomb. It's the nitroglycerine of the Lower Elements."

"There's no way!" cried out Foaly, resulting in a shock from a stun gun. "Those things are banned underground. Their explosive reaction to heat is astronomical. It could blow up the entire city!"

"That's correct, centaur," replied Sool. "You see, Julius, the BluBomb is extremely sensitive to high temperatures. That is why this area is so extremely cold. The main chemicals in it are triggered by heat." He smiled sickeningly. "The result is devastating."

"So you're planning on blowing up Haven City, Sool? Is that your way of getting back at me?" growled Root.

"Oh, of course not, Julius. I wouldn't give you that pleasure," said Sool. "In a few moments, I shall restore the power to the rest of the speeder pods that are in the core. Once I've taken care of the four of you, I'll fly out there to tell them that everything is safe. They'll learn of Root's cowardly escape and fear of death, and how he and his three companions, in desperation, fled from the core, only to be crushed by the falling rocks. I'll explain how I found out about the situation from my old Police Plaza connections, and rushed to help. I stopped the core from overheating, but was too late to save the spineless commander and his cronies. The Police Plaza will welcome me back with open arms. They'll completely forget about Beetroot and the Mud Boy lover."

"You're sick in the head, Sool." Root gazed up at him in disgust. "We won't let you get away with this." He was shocked in the back by a stun gun.

"Take them away, Jook."

The gremlins let the foursome into a metal plated room. Each of the prisoners was chained to a separate wall by their cuffs.

"You will remain in here until a further time, sirs." Jook slammed the door.

"Stupid little blue pricks. 'Sirs' my ass!" grumbled Trouble. "What the hell are we supposed to do? We have no way of contacting the other officers! We're done for! D'ARVIT!"

"Trouble, calm down!" Holly twisted out of her cuffs with a sly grin. "We're going to be alright." She rubbed her sore wrists.

"Holly, how in Frond's name did you do that?!" questioned Foaly.

"I could have done that from the start," said Holly. "It's always good to wait for the opportune moment. Now I just have to get the rest of you out."

"Holly, we shouldn't waste any more time." Root replied. "The rest of us will find a way to get out of here. You need to stall Sool as long as you can."

"But Commander, I-"

"Holly, go."

The young elf approached the door and pried open the lock. She took one last look inside the metal room. On an impulse, she ran across the room and kissed her commander hard on the lips.

"See you later, Julius."

* * *

_Stay tuned for the next installment, **Of Tag Teams and Blue Beams**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion Topic:_**_ Should Viny_á_ya and company arrive to help?_


	11. Of Tag Teams and Blue Beams

**Of Tag Teams and Blue Beams**

**The earth's core**

Holly Short crept close to the core walls. She was alone, unarmed, and without a plan. Not to mention the dozens of gremlins that were surveying the place. She needed to figure something out, and fast.

Holly found her way to the glowing blue room that Sool occupied. She peered in and saw him conversing with several gremlins, the BluBomb activator glowing dangerously behind him. _If only there was a way I could distract him._ Holly thought. _I need to deactivate that thing! That will at least buy us some time._ She took in her surroundings. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. As clever as Holly was, she was clueless as how to stop Sool. _D'Arvit. I can't do this by myself!_

"Ow!" Holly clutched her head in pain. She picked up a rock that had fallen on her head. "Ow!" And another one. "Ow!" And another. "Ow! What the-"

The young elf turned around, only to be face-to-face with her once arch-nemesis, Artemis Fowl.

A sly smile spread across Artemis' face. He put a finger to his lips, signaling Holly to be quiet, and motioned for her to follow him. The child prodigy led his fairy friend into a small undetected crevasse in the wall. His manservant, Butler, who seemed to barely fit into the crevasse, was there waiting. Both humans were dressed in what appeared to be pressure suits for the underground atmosphere. Butler had a large silver case with him, presumably filled with weapons. It seemed they knew exactly when, where, and why they had to come.

"Artemis!" said Holly in a forced whisper. "What in Frond's name are you doing down here? How did you get down here? How did you know we were here?" She had a million questions for him.

Artemis raised a hand. "Everything will be explained in due time, Holly. Right now, our main priority is releasing your friends and deactivating that bomb, correct?"

"Y-yeah." said Holly in surprise. "If we can distract him long enough for Vinyáya and the reinforcements to get here, we should be fine."

The young boy frowned, his face full of premature lines. "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, Holly."

"What do you mean?"

"The reinforcement shuttle has been… incapacitated. It seems that some of those tiny creatures, gremlins I presume? They cut the ship's power, causing it to crash into the rocks before they even reached the core." He saw the alarmed look in Holly's eye. "Oh, nothing to worry about, Holly. We passed it on our way in. They're perfectly fine. Shaken up, without power, and useless, but perfectly fine."

"We were going to help them," continued Butler. "But we felt that this was of more importance." He held out the silver case and opened it. "I thought these would be useful." The case was full of LEPrecon weapons.

Holly gaped at the sight. "Were these the weapons you confiscated from us a few years back?" She picked up a Neutrino and twirled it in her fingers.

"Not quite," replied Artemis. "I've made some significant adjustments. And duplications." He smirked at Holly's look. "Shall we go, then?" He snuck out of the crevasse. "First task is to rescue the rest of your party. Bulter will take care of distracting the gremlins to gain us some time."

Holly led the way back to where she and the others were being held. "So Fowl," she said. "Do I need to fill you in on what's happening, or do you already know?"

"I always know, Holly." replied Artemis. "But I suppose I should shed some light on how I know, shouldn't I?" His face clouded for a moment. "Well, you see, I felt obligated to pay you back. For everything that you've done for us. And everything I've caused and put you through." Holly turned, noticing how sincere and sorry Artemis looked for one of the first times. "I know how it feels to lose someone close to you. Your commander. I set up a tracking device of sorts in hopes of finding him. The cause of his death just didn't convince me. It just felt eerily similar to my father's situation." He stopped walking for a moment. "In my experiences, I find that holding on to hope can be quite rewarding in the end. Especially when it comes to those that you care about. Those that you love."

_Those that you love._ Holly thought. _He doesn't know the half of it. _"So you were tracking to see if the commander was still alive?" she asked.

"Precisely. Several months ago, I received a signal from the very area that he supposingly died in. I ran some tests and found out about these gremlin folks. And who they had a connection to." He continued to follow Holly. "A few weeks ago, we picked up on a strange force coming from this area. It was then that I realized what was going on."

"Always two steps ahead, aren't you, Fowl?" joked Holly.

"If only that was true," said Artemis seriously. "By the time we had prepared everything to travel down here, I knew it would be too late."

They had arrived at the holding cell. Holly felt the door. "Well, you're right on time, kid, so don't beat yourself up about it." She pried open the door the same way she had before. "Commander! Foaly! Trouble! I-"

The room was empty.

* * *

**Eight years earlier, Police Plaza**

"Are you nervous, Holly?"

Holly looked up from the window she was peering out. She flashed Wing Commander Vinyáya a smile. "Not at all, ma'am."

"Whatever you do, Holly, don't let Commander Root push you around." Vinyáya patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "It'll be hard to make a first good impression. Root is impossible. But try your best, Holly. If anyone can do it, it's you."

"Thanks, Commander."

Holly Short stepped through the Police Plaza doors. The world inside buzzed around her. Several male Recon officers hurried past her. "Is that the female recruit?" a few of them whispered to each other. "That has to be her!"

Holly shook her head and looked at the note in her hand. "Commander Julius Root, head of LEPrecon, 5th floor, room 502." Holly remembered hearing about this guy. Youngest commander the LEP ever had. More successful missions than all of his subordinates combined. He was quite the police officer. She boarded the nearest elevator.

"You lost?"

Holly peered up from the note. "Excuse me?" A large centaur with a tinfoil hat had joined her in the elevator.

"Are you lost? You don't look like you know where you're going." asked the centaur. His eyes suddenly got wide. "Oh, wait! You're the test subject!"

"I'm the what?" asked Holly, clearly confused.

"The test subject. The first female officer. The Plaza's been talking about it for months now." He looked Holly up and down. "No offensive kid, but you're a little tiny to be in the LEP."

Holly gave him a dirty look.

The centaur waved his hands in apology. "I'm just kidding around with you! You'll get used to it." He extended a hand. "I'm Foaly, by the way. The technical genius behind this place, and most of the inventions underground."

Holly took the hand and shook it. "Holly Short, the 'test case.'" She gave him a grin.

Suddenly, the elevator door open, and a male elf enter. When he caught site of its occupants, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Speak of the devil!" the elf said. "You must be Holly! I thought you'd be waiting downstairs!"

Holly raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I am. And who are you?"

The elf pointed to his badge. "Captain Trouble Kelp. I just got done speaking to the commander. He's expecting you."

"Expecting me?"

"Yeah," Trouble pressed the elevator button. He examined her just like Foaly had, then patted her on the back. "Well, Holly, it takes a lot to get the commander's approval. To be honest, he's expecting some dumb blonde bimbo who's going to run around distracting everyone and causing trouble. You definitely don't look that way to me, though." He got off when the elevator stopped. "Best of luck!"

Foaly got off at the next stop. "Don't worry too much, Holly. Beetroot is really just an old softy when you get to know him."

"Beetroot?"

"You'll know what I mean soon enough!"

Moments later, Holly knocked on the commander's door.

"Come in!" someone grunted from behind it.

"Commander Root?" asked Holly timidly. When he didn't even bother looking up, Holly straightened up. "I'm Corporal Holly Short, the reporting new Recon officer."

"Yes, yes, Miss Short. What do you want, a welcoming parade?"

Holly was taken aback by the comment. _You need to make a good impression, Holly!_ She told herself. _Take charge_!

Holly strutted next her superior officer, plucked the cigar right from his mouth, and crushed it in his ashtray. "Not at all sir, but I do expect you and everyone else here to treat me with the same respect as any other officer." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not some dumb blonde bimbo who's going to run around distracting everyone and causing trouble." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow slyly at him.

Root finally looked up. Holly stood as tall as she could as his eyes bore through her. After what seemed like an eternity, he rose from his seat.

"Well, Corporal Short, I guess I was wrong about you." He held out a hand. "I wish you the best of luck on your test. Welcome to the force!"

Holly beamed and accepted the hand. "Thank you, Commander." As soon as she left, the young elf breathed a sigh of relief.

_I did it! I can't believe I actually got his approval on my first try!_ Holly rested her head against the wall, her mind racing. _He wasn't as bad as what everyone was making him out to be._ She glanced down the hallway at the Commander's office. _He was kind of cute, too._

* * *

**The earth's core**

"So what's the plan, Julius?" Foaly galloped alongside the two Recon commanders.

"Don't call me Julius, pony boy." grunted Root as he peeked across the corner of the passageway they were running down. "The plan is this. Find Holly. Stop Sool. Go home."

"And that's it?" asked Trouble in disbelief. "Are you crazy? What happened to the commander's belief of 'never go in without a plan?' Not to mention the fact that we're all unarmed!"

Root turned abruptly and grasped Trouble by the shoulders. "Trouble, everything I've told you and your Recon buddies, I want you to completely throw that out the window."

"I-I don't understand." began Trouble.

"All you need to know is that things change when those that you love are involved." Trouble has never seen the commander look so serious. "I can't let anything happen to her. Ever."

* * *

**Eight years earlier, Commander Root's office**

"Sir?" Captain Trouble Kelp poked his head into his commander's office. "The entire Plaza is buzzing. I think the new Recon officer recruit is here."

Commander Root barely glanced up from his paperwork. "Yeah, yeah. Send him in."

Trouble opened the door a little wider. "I think you mean her, sir."

Root nearly choked on his fungus cigar. "What?!"

Trouble sighed. "Don't you remember, sir? The test case? The first female Recon officer? You yourself reviewed the files and had one of the final says."

"Ugh." The commander rubbed his temples. "I guess I've completely pushed it to the back of my mind." He continued grumbling. "I've had enough stress as it is. The last thing I need is some dumb blonde bimbo running around here distracting all my best men and causing more trouble than she's worth."

"That sure is positive thinking, sir."

Root glared at his captain. "Just send her up, Kelp." He continued chewing on his cigar and finishing his paperwork.

Several minutes past and there was another knock on the door.

"Come in!" grunted Root.

"Commander Root?" He didn't even look up when the female voice called his name "I'm Corporal Holly Short, the reporting new Recon officer."

"Yes, yes, Miss Short. What do you want, a welcoming parade?"

He heard the young elf's boots click over to his side. She snatched the cigar from his mouth and crushed it in his ashtray.

"Not at all sir, but I do expect you and everyone else here to treat me with the same respect as any other officer. I'm not some dumb blonde bimbo who's going to run around distracting everyone and causing trouble."

Root's ears pricked at the familiar sounding comment and he finally looked up to see the new source of all his stress. When he did, he nearly fell out of his chair.

_By Frond!_ Root thought. _She's absolutely beautiful_. The new officer was nothing like he'd imagine. Her eyes were fierce, flaring with determination. And did she really have a crew cut like the rest of his officers? That definitely showed dedication. She was no dumb blonde bimbo. Root remembered her file from the list of dozens of applicants. Top of her class, excellent flyer, quick thinker. She had stood up to him on her first day. Now that was something. The girl had spunk.

Root regained his composure and rose from his chair.

"Well, Corporal Short, I guess I was wrong about you." He held out a hand. "I wish you the best of luck in your test. Welcome to the force!"

Holly accepted the hand with a sly smile. "Thank you, Commander." With that, she left.

Root leaned back in his chair and lit a new cigar. "I think I'm going to like this new officer."

* * *

**The earth's core**

Trouble nodded. "I've got your back, Commander." They continued running.

"Same here, big guy!" chirped in Foaly.

The three of them stopped dead. They had reached the main chamber of the core, where the BlueBomb was. Only they were not the first to arrive.

"What in the name of-"

"Is that the giant mud man?"

"BUTLER?!"

The Eurasian manservant was single-handedly fighting several dozen stun-gun-armed gremlins. And winning. A gremlin jumped on his back, stinging him repeatedly between the shoulders. Butler grabbed him, twirled him in the air, and threw him into a cluster of other gremlins. Four gremlins then attacked him from all sides. He seized them in his mammoth hands and sent them spinning into their comrades, pinwheel style. Butler kicked the last few gremlins, stopped to catch his breath, and waved to his fairy friends.

"Nice to see all of you ag-" A large rock knocked the manservant to his knees. They all looked up, and saw a new patch of gremlin coming down the walls. Butler got back on his feet. "All of you! There!" He pointed to an oddly shaped rock behind Foaly. The three fairy folk turned around. At closer examination, the rock turned out to be a hologram. Within it was the silver case.

"Leave it to the Mud Boy to rip off my own genius inventions." commented Foaly as he carefully picked out a communicator and weapon. Root and Trouble shortly followed.

"Oh, how nice it is to have the upper hand!" Trouble gave a wide grin before shooting off several gremlins.

Root grunted a short agreement before rolling through several gremlins and picking off two that had latched onto Butler's back.

"Uh, guys, I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do." Foaly stood back from the fight, staring cluelessly at the gun in hand. Sure, he was the engineer of these weapons. He knew them inside and out. But the centaur had never in his life so much as fired a slingshot. A group of gremlins started toward the tech nerd. "GUYS!" Foaly clenched his eyes shut and fired aimlessly in the direction of the gremlins. The shot ricocheted off the ceiling rocks, sending them crashing down into a large group of gremlins that were about to attack Trouble.

Trouble turned around and flashed Foaly a grin. "Nice work there, pony boy!" He turned to shoot the gremlins surrounding the centaur. "Mud Man!" the Recon officer called to Bulter. "Any sign of the head honcho? Gnome about Root's size, few centuries older."

"Ark Sool?" Bulter asked as he punched out ten gremlins at once. Root cast him a strange look, surprised that the giant Mud Man knew the elf's name. _We have his file. _Bulter mouthed to him. "I have not seen him here."

"That's not a good sign." Root kneed a gremlin in the stomach, sending him flying into his comrades behind him. He turned and pistol-whipped another one behind him. "He must be up to something!" The commander ducked a stun gun shot. "Trouble!"

His fellow commander turned his attention. "What is it, sir?"

Root dodged another shot. "Cover Foaly!" He sent one back. "And Foaly!"

The centaur had abandoned his gun and was running along kicking the gremlin as hard as he could with his hooves. "Yeah?"

"Check that BluBomb! I have a feeling there's more to that activator than we thought."

"Right-o, big guy!" Foaly galloped through a few more gremlins, making his way towards the BluBomb activator. Trouble followed behind him. Several moments later, Foaly emitted a groan. "Oh no."

"Oh no?" mimicked Root as he toss a gremlin over his shoulder. "Why 'oh no?'"

"You were right, commander. This isn't the activator. It's a fluke." The centaur took a glance at the BluBomb glowing ominously behind him. "Wherever Sool is, he's most likely going to set off that activator."

Root got a stun gun to the back of the head. "D'Arvit."

* * *

"It's empty." Holly sank to her knees in the vacant room where her comrades were once held.

"Hmm." Artemis was standing behind his elf friend. He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "There are two possibilities, Holly." He began pacing the room. "Either your friends were moved to another area, most likely to be killed, or they escaped on their own accord." Holly held her breath as Artemis examined the cuffs. He gave her a smile. "Turns out it's the latter. See here? This lock was picked. This other one was pried open. In prisoner situations, the locks would be opened with a key. Not hard to miss." He looked out the door. "My best guess is that your friends are assisting Butler as we speak."

"What are we waiting for then, Fowl?" Holly yanked the young prodigy by the arm and set in a full sprint down the passageway. "We need to get to the bomb room!"

Artemis' eyes widened in shock as he, a multi-millionaire child genius, was dragged through an underground tunnel by a female fairy half his size. These sort of things he was NOT used to. Not at all.

In no time, they had reached the center of the core. Butler, Root, Trouble, and Foaly were still engaged in what seemed to be a battle with an endless flow of gremlins. Fatigue showed in all their faces.

Trouble was the first to notice the new arrivals. He elbowed a gremlin in the face. "Commander! It's Holly!"

Root whisked around. "Holly!" Ignoring the gremlins around him, he ran towards her and swung her around in an embrace. The pair locked lips, and the world around them seemed to stop. Even the gremlins ceased fire.

After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled away. Root stroke the side of her face. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that!" he said softly. Holly smiled.

"Uh, guys," coughed Trouble. "As much as I hate to break up the happy new couple, we still have a problem on our hands." He pointed to the ceiling of the core center, where still more gremlins were coming down. "Those things must breed like Mud Men. They're endless!"

Artemis, having been stuck in a daze since he entered the room and witnessed the bizarre exchange between two of his fairy comrades, snapped back to attention. "It's a diversion."

"What?" asked the other party members in unison.

"A distraction," continued Artemis. "Sool wants us to keep mindlessly fighting these gremlins so he can set off the bomb without any problems. And kill us all in the process."

"We need to find the BluBomb activator. And fast." said Foaly. "Hey little guy," he turned his attention to the young Irish boy. "Can you bring us to your ship? I think I might have an idea where Sool and the activator are."

* * *

**The Fowl fairy cruiser**

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Fowl." commented Holly. "Central cooling, down to the centimeter tracking, leather upholstery, this would give some of our best shuttles a run for their money. I'm impressed!" She patted her human friend on the back before heading to the pilot room, where Root was following Foaly's directions towards Sool and the bomb activator.

This left Artemis Fowl, his manservant, and Trouble Kelp alone together. There was silence. Awkward silence.

"Ahem," the young Irish boy attempted to make idle chitchat. "I don't believe we have ever been properly introduced. You're Major Trouble Kelp, correct?"

Trouble gave him a sideways glance. "Commander, actually."

"Ah."

Several more moments of awkward silence.

"So," continued Artemis. "Holly is involved with Commander Root?"

"Damn right." Trouble began polishing his gun.

"Hmm. I would have never guessed-"

"I definitely saw that coming," interrupted Butler. He got an eyebrow raised from both of his fellow passengers. "It makes perfect sense, after all. I've seen the way they've acted towards each other. Especially when the other one was in peril. You should have seen them in the Arctic."

"Well what does that have to do with anything?" asked Artemis, quite cluelessly.

Butler chuckled deeply and patted the young boy on his back. "I think you're still much too young for that, sir."

Artemis burrowed his brow furiously. He was not used to being the one left in the dark. "I suppose even I have noticed some romantic tension between them during our excursions."

Trouble twirled his gun and put it back in its holster. "You don't know the half of it, kid."

* * *

_Tune in for the next installment, **Of Hidden Tunnels and Food Funnels**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion topic:_**_ Sool's fate - batter fried or life in stripes?_


	12. Of Hidden Tunnels and Food Funnels

**Of Hidden Tunnels and Food Funnels**

**The abandoned smuggling storage center**

"There!" Foaly pointed to a barely visible crack in the tunnel wall. "That's where Sool is!"

"Are you sure about that, Foaly?" Root leaned closer in his pilot's chair to get a better view. "It doesn't look even a one-person cruiser could fit through there."

"Trust me, Julius," replied the centaur. "This is it." He turned to Holly, who was standing behind the two pilot chairs. "Can you bring this shuttle through, Hol'? It's gonna be a very tight squeeze."

She cast her four-legged friend a wicked grin. "Those are my favorite kinds!"

Root fought back the urge to laugh and got up from his seat, offering the pilot chair to his major. "Try not to get us killed, Holly."

"Oh, I'd never, Julius." She winked.

"Get a room." Foaly muttered to himself, although he couldn't help but grin.

Several minutes later, the crew had miraculously fit through the crack. They found themselves in a small metal alcove. Holly landed the cruiser and they all got off.

"This is strange," commented Trouble as he surveyed the area. "What is a giant metal box doing in the middle of the core?"

"It's an old smuggling storage center." replied Foaly. "Back before I was the head tech guy, smuggling groups would store their loot in places like this. The metal fooled the computers into thinking it was just an iron deposit, or something similar. They've been abandoned for decades now. Well, even if they weren't, computers nowadays wouldn't be fooled that easily."

"So this is where you think Sool is hiding?" asked Holly.

"Yep, I'm almost positive," said Foaly. "This particular alcove has a surface exit as well as an underground one. As a means of 'roundabout delivery.'"

"So Sool is planning on activating the bomb, then escaping to the surface, in order to return safely and inconspicuously from another area." Artemis said.

"Tsk, tsk," boomed a voice above them. "I should have known that you'd bring the boy in to help. So typical of you Mud Men lovers."

"Sool!" growled Root. He reached for his gun and pointed it into the darkness above him, searching for the source of the voice. "Get out of the shadows, you coward!"

"What's the matter, Julius?" Sool continued from the dark. "Were the gremlins too much for you? That's a real shame." The room started to rumble. "It's really too much fun toying with all of you. Enjoy your last few moments of living."

The room continued to shake. Suddenly, the wall in front of them, metal and all, collapsed.

"You've got to be kidding me," breathed Holly.

From behind the wall emerged one of the biggest trolls any of the fairies have ever seen. It blinked its eyes furiously, recovering from the dust and rock. The troll spotted the six-person group, roared, and trudged towards them menacingly.

Everyone got in a fighting stance, guns at the ready. Artemis looked around nervously. Never in his life did he think he would have to deal with another troll. Especially at hand-to-hand combat. He caught his manservant's eye. Butler gave him a reassuring nod, but there was doubt in his eyes.

"Holly!" Root called to his major. "I want you to grab the boy and find Sool!"

Holly turned bewildered. "What? Commander, I-"

"No, Holly." He looked her in the eyes. "Please. Protect Artemis. Find Sool. Stay safe."

Holly approached her commander. "Alright." She touched his face. "Be careful, Julius." She signaled to Artemis. They dodged the troll and ran in the direction of Sool's voice.

"Be well, Holly." Root whispered to himself. He shot the troll between the eyes with his blaster. "Alright boys, we've got our hands full here!" He called to his three comrades.

"Julius, I could barely handle those gremlins. How do you expect me to handle a troll?" whined Foaly.

"Suck it up, pony boy." Trouble rolled to dodge one of the troll's madly swinging arms. He shot at its shoulder, but to no avail. The troll only got angrier. "Mud Man, do you want to show us some of those moves again?" he called to Butler.

The large Eurasian man grunted as he narrowly missed a troll leg to the head. He grabbed the leg in his hands and swung the troll around, flipping it on its back. The troll howled and thrashed in pain, knocking Butler into a nearby wall.

"Butler!" Root dodged the troll's arms and attempted to aid the fallen human.

Butler opened his eyes groggily. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" he muttered. The large man's eyes widened. He grabbed Root and threw him like a rag doll, just in time to miss being impaled by a venomous troll tusk. He rolled onto his feet and launched himself onto the troll's back.

The troll went berserk, thrashing wildly as he tried to remove the nearly three hundred pound human from his back. Butler dodged the attacks and began firing shots into the troll's head. The troll shook them off like mosquito bites and continued wailing around.

"Trouble!" Root called to his fellow commander. "We need to shoot him in the neck! He has an open wound there, do you see it? That's our only chance!"

"Got it, sir!" Trouble rolled to dodge an attack and took a few shots at the troll's neck. "D'Arvit! Missed it!"

Root ran behind him and fired as well. The shot ricocheted off one of the troll's tusks, breaking it clean off. The troll howled in pain and thrashed about, once again sending Butler crashing into a wall.

"D'Arvit." Root took a step back as the troll continued going crazy. He looked towards Trouble, who was equally as helpless. Butler was just getting up, clutching the side of his side. But where was Foaly?

WHAM.

The centaur slammed right into the troll, knocking him off his feet. In his hands was the troll tusk, dripping with venom. He drove it into the troll's neck.

The troll let out one last blood-curdling screech and convulsed. Then he went completely limp.

Foaly stepped back, covered in troll blood and completely out of breath. "That's what you and your kind get for destroying so much of my equipment over the years!"

Trouble looked at Root in disbelief. "Did that-"

"Yeah," Root cut him off. "The four-legged tech nerd just killed a troll." He rubbed his eyes and looked at Foaly, still unconvinced that the lazy smart-mouthed centaur had just saved them all."

Foaly walked up to the commander. He threw his gun at his feet. "I never EVER want to do that again. Next time, I'm staying in the Ops Booth." He adjusted his tinfoil hat. "Now let's help Holly and Artemis."

* * *

"Fowl, there!" Holly pointed her gun towards a faintly glowing crack ahead of them. "That has to be him. Are you ready, Artemis?"

Artemis, his face paler than usual, nodded.

"Okay, here we go!" Holly snuck through the crack. "Jackpot." she whispered. In front of her were Ark Sool and the real BluBomb activator.

Sool felt a gun against the back of his head. "We've got you, Sool," said Holly behind him. "It's over. Give up."

Sool chuckled. "Holly, Holly, when will you ever learn? You can't win." In the blink of an eye, he had whipped around and grabbed Holly's armed hand, pinning it behind her back. "I'm agile for my age, my dear!" he growled in her ear. Sool bounded and gagged Holly, then threw her in the corner. "Now, _Major Short_, you'll be the first to witness the effects of the BluBomb. It's been nice knowing you. I'll be sure to mention you in my commencement speech." He turned to begin activating the bomb. Holly slowly nodded out of consciousness.

As Artemis watched the scene turn out before him, his mind ran through the possible solutions. _There's no way I can stop him myself. Not after he just captured and knocked out Holly so quickly. I need to find everyone else. But what about that troll?_ With one last glance at Holly, he dashed back the way they came, only to run into a Eurasian bodyguard several moments later.

"Oof!" The force of the crash sent Artemis sailing across the floor. "Butler!" He picked himself up, seeing Root, Trouble, and Foaly following behind. "You all survived the troll attack. Did you kill it, Butler?"

Butler brushed Artemis off. "No sir, the centaur did."

Artemis blinked dumbfoundedly. "Really?" He shook it off. "That's not important right now. Holly and I found Sool, but he has captured her. As we speak, he is activating the-"

Before Artemis had even finished the sentence, Root set off in a mad dash towards Sool and Holly. Several minutes later, he had reached the activator room. He saw Sool hunched over the activator, and Holly collapsed in the corner. Without thinking, Root tackled Sool to the ground.

"Root! What the hell are you doing?" He threw the commander off of him, drawing a gun.

The commander grabbed Sool's arm and swung him around, knocking the gun from his hand. He elbowed him in the chest and pistol-whipped his face. "When I'm done with you, Sool, you'll be sucking mush through a funnel!"

Knocked to the floor and with a bloodied nose, Sool grabbed at Root's feet, pulling him down with him. He punched Root hard in the face.

Root rolled out of the way of another punch. He stood up and reached for his gun, but-

BANG.

"You really need to pay closer attention, Julius." Sool stood up, breathing heavy. Root's gun was in his hand. Root fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Sool stepped to the activator and flipped the last switches. "I hope you and all your stupid Mud Men loving friends have a wonderful afterlife." He put the gun against Root's head.

BANG.

* * *

**Six years earlier, Commander Root's office**

"Sir, can I come in? Trouble peeked into Root's office. With a grunt from his Commander, he entered. "The pictures from the company crunchball game are in. I'd thought you like to seen them." He handed over the packet of photos.

Root flipped through the pictures absentmindedly. He stopped at one, and his expression softened. It was a photo of Holly, a flashy smile on her face, catching a ball in midair.

Trouble peered over Root's shoulder. "Uh, sir?"

Startled, Root threw the photos on his desk. "Why are you still here, Captain?" he barked.

Trouble raised an eyebrow at his superior elf. "Sir, you don't, do you?"

"I don't what, Kelp?"

"Nah, it couldn't be. That would be too weird."

Root growled. "Out with it, Captain!"

Trouble picked up the photo of Holly from his Commander's desk and waved it in front of his face. "You love Holly!" he sang mockingly.

Root turned a deeper shade of purple than he had ever turned. "Why in Frond's name would you suggest that?! On top of it being highly inappropriate work discussion, she's one of my subordinates!"

Trouble laughed. "Yeah, yeah. But that doesn't hide the fact that you love her. C'mon Commander, I saw those lovey-dovey eyes you had over that picture. Not to mention the random calls you sent for her for no reason whatsoever. Or the weekly requirement for all of your workers to sit together at lunch for a 'meeting,' in which you always seem to wind up right next to her. Or how you always seem to take the long route to the elevator past her office. No offense sir, but you're pretty bad when it comes to inconspicuous crushes."

"For the last time, I am not in love with my female officer!" hollered Root.

"Alright, Commander, alright." Trouble motioned with his hands for the reddish elf to calm down. "I guess you won't mind if I asked Holly about all this. I'm sure she would help me clear things up. See you later." Trouble started for the door.

"Wait!" Root ran around his desk and slammed the door closed. "Alright! Alright!"

"Yes, sir?" Trouble smirked and leaned against the door.

"I love Holly." Root muttered quietly.

"What was that?"

"I love Holly!" he growled, still inaudibly.

"Still didn't catch that, sir."

"I LOVE HOLLY, ALRIGHT?!" Root hollered, gesturing wildly with his arms. "I'M HEAD OVER HEELS, TOTALLY GA-GA, OFF THE WALLS, OVER THE MOON, IN LOVE WITH HER! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!" Root huffed a few times then flopped on the couch in his office. "I swear, Kelp, if you tell ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE, it'll be your badge!"

"Not to worry, Commander. Your secret's safe with me." Trouble patted him on the back. "Now don't you feel better since you got that off your chest?"

Root looked up. "Actually, I do."

* * *

**The abandoned smuggling storage center**

Sool's face twisted in pain and confusion before he collapsed to the floor. Behind him stood Holly Short, the gun Root had knocked off him in her hands.

"H-Holly!" Root gasped for breaths. Blue sparks began dancing around his stomach, but the wound was too severe. Holly ran to her commander's side and placed her hands on his stomach, sending more blue sparks around him. "N-no, Holly. You have to get out of here. The bomb's going to go off any moment." He took a large gasp of air. "Find the others and get to the surface!"

"No, Julius!" Holly fought back the lump growing in her throat. "I'm not going to lose you again!"

Root smiled and cupped Holly's face in his hand. "Holly," he said. "I love you."

* * *

**Six years earlier, Ops Booth**

Holly peeked over Foaly's shoulder. He was busy typing away at one of his many computers in the Ops Booth. "Italian?"

"Definitely not."

"Indian, maybe?"

"No."

"Chinese?"

"Never."

Holly sighed. "We could order sandwiches."

"Sounds good to me!" The centaur twirled around in his seat. "So how did your first Recon mission go with the commander?"

"Pretty good, I think. It went very smoothly. He didn't freak or anything. Do you think he likes me?" Holly replied.

"I'd say so. He doesn't complain about you all that much. And he seems to yell less when you're around."

Holly perked up out of her seat. "You think so?"

"Well, he at least hates you less than everyone else here." Foaly eyed up Holly suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

Holly wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, no reason." She said almost too quickly. "It's always good when your boss likes you, right?"

"Mmhmm," muttered Foaly, still eying her up. "Or when you like your boss."

"What was that?"

Foaly's eyes lit up innocently. "Oh nothing, Holly." She "hmped" in dissatisfaction. "400 years, though," he said quietly to himself. "That's a bit much."

"392." Holly said matter-of-factly. Foaly gaped at her, stunned. Her eyes widened and she clasped her mouth.

"Ahah! So it's true then! You have the hots for the commander!"

Holly sulked into her chair. "Okay! Okay! I admit it!" She gave Foaly a guilty look. "I couldn't help it, Foaly! There's just something about him. His dark eyes, the way he-"

"Eww, Holly, please. It's almost lunch time." interrupted Foaly. But yet, he couldn't fight back a grin.

* * *

**The abandoned smuggling storage center**

"I love you too, Julius." Holly whispered.

"Holly! Commander!" Trouble was the first to dash into the room. "What the?! What the hell happened in here?!" Sool was lying in a pool of blood, a bullet in his lower neck. Holly was cradling the blood-soaked Commander in her arms, blue sparks dancing around him. Foaly, Artemis, and Butler soon followed, and were equally as shocked.

"Trouble, we have to get out of here! The bomb's going to go off any second!" said Holly. "Sool fully activated it!"

"Not if I can help it!" Foaly galloped up to the activator. He turned to Artemis. "Want to give me a hand here, kid?" Artemis nodded, and ran up to help the centaur deactivate the bomb.

Trouble ran towards Holly. He helped lay the commander flat on the ground, and assisted with the healing process. "D'Arvit," he breathed. "This is pretty bad."

Butler stood behind, twiddling his thumbs. For once in his life, he felt useless.

The walls began shaking. "D'Arvit!" cursed Foaly. "C'mon, baby!" He continued working on the activator. Artemis surveyed the bomb frantically. All of the switches were completely alien to him. The shaking began more and more violent. Sweat dripped down Foaly's brow. "You guys need to get out of here! NOW!"

Trouble turned from helping Root. "What?! Foaly, you can't be serious!"

"We not going to leave you behind, Foaly!" continued Holly.

"You guys need to get to the ship! I'll be right behind you!" Everyone froze in their spots. "GO!" the centaur yelled.

Butler scooped up Artemis in one of his arms and the still injured and nearly unconscious Root in the other. He nodded curtly to Foaly and set down the passageway. Trouble put his hand on the centaur's shoulder, then quickly followed. Holly threw her arms around her tech friend. "We'll wait as long as we can, Foaly." She ran off.

Foaly sighed deeply. "By Frond, I hope this works."

The remaining team members ran frantically down the passageway, dodging rocks falling and floors breaking up. After what seemed like forever, they reached the Fowl cruiser.

"Trouble," called Holly as she jumped into the pilot room. "I need you to finish healing Root."

"Holly, you can't fly this thing back to the Haven by yourself." Trouble said as he helped Butler lay the fallen commander on one of the lounge couches.

"We're not going to the Haven. Not yet. We're going to the surface, and picking up something on the way." Holly gassed it full throttle in the direction of the bomb and Foaly. The core continued to shake violently around them. If anyone was able to guide an oversized Mud Man luxury cruiser, it was Holly Short. She dodged every hazard and found her way back to the bomb room. The shaking was becoming more and more deadly.

Artemis threw himself in the co-pilot's seat. "Holly, are you crazy?! We're not going to make it!" In reflex, he covered his head with his hands as a huge rock crashed into the cruiser.

Suddenly, all the shaking stopped. Artemis peered open one eye. _Am I dead?_ He thought. He looked over and saw Holly smiling triumphantly out the window. Foaly was waving maniacally outside.

"He did it!" cried Holly. "Foaly deactivated the bomb! Look! He's dancing like crazy!"

Holly ran and opened the shuttle door. Foaly sprinted inside, and began gesturing wildly before Holly could congratulate him.

"Holly! Sool's body! It's gone!"

"What?!"

"I deactivated the bomb, and when I turned around, his body was gone!"

"Okay, calm down Foaly. First we need to get the hell out of here. We'll worry about Sool when we get back to the Haven."

Holly took her spot in the pilot seat. She had barely lifted the cruiser off the ground when she felt a gun against her temple.

Sool, bloodied, battered, and defeated, panted furiously next to her. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING YOU STUPID GIRL!"

BANG.

Root stood in the pilot room doorway, gun in hand. He grabbed Sool by the neck. "Don't you EVER touch her again!" He kicked open the shuttle door and threw him into the boiling magma below. Root leaned against the wall, breathing hard. He dropped his gun before sinking to the floor.

Holly kneeled next to him and threw her arms around him. She kissed him. "Thanks, Julius."

* * *

_Tune in for the last installment, **Of Shuttle Parts and Romantic Starts**._

_Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!_

**_Suggestion topic: _**_Gremlins - evil little buggers or followers of the strongest side?_


	13. Of Shuttle Parts and Romantic Starts

**Of Shuttle Parts and Romantic Starts**

**The abandoned smuggling storage center**

"D'Arvit, I can't find a way out! The rocks collapsed in everything!" Trouble Kelp had taken over as pilot while Holly attended to the commander. "Hey Artemis, do you have any LEP communications on this thing?"

The child prodigy entered the pilot room. "I'm afraid they short circuited while we were trying to navigate through the falling rocks."

"We're sitting ducks then until help arrive," commented Butler, who appeared behind Artemis. "_If _help arrives."

"Wait, what's that?" Trouble squinted through the shuttle window. "What in Frond's name?!" Two battered gremlins were jumping up and down, trying to get the shuttle occupants' attentions. Trouble, grumbling curses under his breath, exited the shuttle to confront the traitorous gremlins. "What the hell do YOU want?!" he yelled in their faces.

"I want to show you a way out, sir!" squeaked one of the gremlins. It was the one they first met, Jook.

"What?!" Trouble look at the gremlin in disbelief, then raised an eyebrow at him. "How stupid do you think I am? Is this some kind of trick?"

"Well I do think you're stupid," spat the other gremlin. This one was the rude one who helped with Root's operation, Rale. "But that's besides the point. We want to help you all get out."

"Yes, help you, sir." chimed in Jook. "No tricks, sir."

"Why in Frond's name would you want to help us?" asked Trouble.

"We help whoever's the strongest," said the other gremlin. "It's a fairy-eat-fairy world out there. We gremlins go with the top dogs. Right now, that's you."

"Yes, sir!" continued Jook. "Will you let us help you, sir?"

Trouble grunted. "Alright fine. But I swear, if you little buggers put so much as one little blue finger out of line, we'll EcoBomb the lot of you."

The gremlins nodded. Jook pointed to a nearly undetectable crack in the rock wall. "You see that, sir? If your shuttle's nose hits that, the entire wall will collapse, sir. The passage to the surface is behind it, sir."

Trouble examined the crack. "That sounds easy enough."

Rale awkwardly extended a hand to Trouble. "Yeah, well, good luck. And sorry for… the stuff."

Trouble gave the gremlin a strange look and took the hand.

Jook took a deep bow. "I too apologize for our actions, sir. As we-"

"For Frond's sake, will you stop saying 'sir?!'"

* * *

**The aboveground Scottish moors**

"Well, Artemis, it's been fun." Holly beamed at the young Irish boy. Trouble had safely navigated the shuttled to the makeshift aboveground dock, located in the unpopulated Scottish moors. She and her fellow fairies were saying goodbye to their human friends. "I really don't think we would have pulled it off with your help." Holly put out a hand, retracted it, and instead pulled the boy into an embrace.

A small gasp escaped Artemis' lips, but he smiled and returned the hug. "I'm hoping this little excursion disqualifies us for a mind-wipe. After all, I think we deserve it." He pulled away with a playful smirk on his face.

"Well, Fowl, I think that's up to the commanders." Holly grinned and glanced over at Root and Trouble, who were talking with Butler.

"Butler, on behalf of the LEP, I cannot thank you enough for helping us." Root peered up at the Eurasian body with admiration. He winced and clutched his stomach for a moment, which was freshly bandaged. "All of the Lower Elements would have been cooked if it wasn't for you."

The bodyguard crouched to the elves' level. "It's been my pleasure. I believe these sorts of… _humanitarian adventures_… are good for Master Fowl. They're a positive influence on him." He shook the commander's hand. "And good job, by the way."

"On what?"

Butler nodded in the direction of Holly. "I had a feeling you two would end up together."

Trouble nudged his fellow commander in the arm. "See? Even above ground they can see it. You really are bad at keeping your infatuation a secret."

Root waved off the comment, turning slightly pink. "Anyways, Butler, we'll be taking your shuttle back home. As soon as we fix it up, we'll have it delivered back to you."

Foaly emerged from the shuttle. "And I'm guessing all the spares parts are coming out of my budget?" he winced.

"You got that right, pony boy."

After several more goodbyes and a promise of no mind-wipes as long as they stayed straight, Artemis and Butler set off for the Fowl Manor. The four fairies boarded the cruiser and set back for the Lower Elements.

* * *

**Police Plaza**

In no time, the quartet was back in the Police Plaza. With the crisis successful adverted, everything was back to normal.

"Well gang, we've had quite the adventure today!" exclaimed Foaly. "The gremlins turned bad, Sool went crazy, Holly and Julius hooked up, the Mud Men showed up, Holly and Julius hooked up again, I killed a troll, Sool got fried, the gremlins turned good, and I got my budget cut. What a day."

"You got that right, Foaly," replied Trouble. He glanced back at Holly and Root, who were quietly whispering to each other, smiling. He nudged Foaly in the ribs. "Hey, you asked me a few days ago to help you clean your computer hardware, right?"

"What? I already got that-" The centaur followed Trouble's gaze. "Oh yeah. _That_ hardware. Yes I need help with that!" He and Trouble waved goodbye and trotted down towards the Ops Booth.

Root stared after that. "What was that about?"

Holly shrugged her shoulders. "They're both strange like that." She laced her fingers between her commander's and they headed for his office.

"You do know we'll have to keep this a secret from everyone in the Plaza, don't you Holly?" asked Root.

"I know," replied Holly. "And I probably shouldn't call you 'Julius' at work either."

They had arrived at his office. "Yes. And we won't be able to do anything like this." His gazed fell to their entwined fingers. He gently pulled his hand free and opened the door.

Holly closed it behind them. "Yeah, we'll really have to be careful when we're in this building."

Root placed his hands on her waist, pressing her gently against his office door. "Well, maybe not everywhere in this building." He leaned in and kissed her.

Holly smiled and swung her arms around her commander's neck. "I guess not everywhere." She pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

* * *

**The Ops Booth**

"You want popcorn?" Foaly peeked over Trouble's shoulder.

"Is it wrong that we're watching this?" asked Trouble, who was lounging in Foaly's specially made computer chair.

"Nah, I always watch to see what Beetroot is up to in his office. It's fun. And besides, it's great to see all of our hard work paid off."

Trouble laughed, then flicked off the power to the computer. "We should probably give them some privacy."

Foaly nodded. After a moment, he turned, a worried look on his face. "Trubs, I have this oddest feeling that we forgot to do something important."

* * *

**Near the earth's core**

"Hello? Is anyone there? This is Wing Commander Vinyáya. We've been stranded in one of the outer core chamber for almost twenty-four hours. We have adequate food and water provisions, but the men are getting extremely testy. And it's very hot. Hello? Anyone?"

* * *

**The Ops Booth**

Foaly shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, it's probably nothing important."

* * *

_That's all, folks! A big thanks to everyone who has read this story, especially those who have stuck with me for the past three years as I succumbed to procrastination and rarely updated. It was because of you guys that I pushed myself to finish this story. I would have never dreamed it would become so popular. Thanks for all your comments, encouragement, tips, and suggestions. I really appreciate it! I hope you all continue to enjoy the Artemis Fowl series as much as I have. Who knows? Maybe Root WILL come back some day. We can only hope!_


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